2007年VOA标准英语-India's National Symbol Becoming More Difficult

By Steve Herman
New Delhi
29 May 2007
 

India's tiger population is dwindling

The tiger is India's national symbol, but it is getting more difficult to spot the animal in its native habitat. The country now finds itself in the embarrassing position of having tiger reserves without any tigers. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from New Delhi on the state of the Indian tiger and a controversial plan to relocate some of the big cats.

It is a sighting that is becoming more infrequent in India – tigers in their natural habitat. Ranthambore National Park in the state of Rajasthan is one of the best places to see the tigers.

And that has made it a popular tourist attraction bringing much-needed revenue to the rural area.

Other tiger reserves are not so lucky. In the Sariska reserve, also in Rajasthan, the tourists have vanished because no tigers have been spotted¹ there since November 2004.  Humans are blamed for wiping out Sarika's tiger population.

In response, the Ministry² of Environment and Forests plans to take some of these tigers from Ranthambhore to repopulate Sariska.

The head of the Ministry's Project Tiger, Rajesh Gopal, endorses³ the idea.  "We can very well afford to trans-locate a few spillover tiger cubs⁴ in the prime age group from geographically⁵ distant areas within the tiger reserve itself, Ranthambhore itself, for Sariska. We can do that."

But many conservationists oppose the plan.

They argue that 10,000 people live inside the Sariska Park. And they include villagers who see the tiger as a threat, and poachers who sell tiger skins and other body parts on the thriving black market across the border in Nepal. Tiger products are believed to have medicinal and aphrodisiac powers.

One of India's best known tiger lovers, conservationist Valmik Thapar, says the plan to relocate a few of the park's villages will not save the endangered animal. "If they don't want to go and none of them leave then you cannot relocate tigers because tigers and people don't co-exist. The tiger salivates when it looks at the four-legged creatures that people in villages have, which are cows and buffaloes⁶. There is conflict then between man and tigers – always has been for centuries."

Tiger conservationists lament⁷ that no one in India's government seems to have the fierce commitment to saving the animal, as did former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

She cracked down on tiger hunting and the fur trade and initiated⁸ the first nine reserves under Project Tiger. The current overseer of Project Tiger refutes the critics. He says Mrs. Gandhi's legacy⁹ lives and is cherished by the current prime minister. 

India's tiger

"The Tiger Task Force came up with a set of urgent recommendations which are being implemented¹⁰ upon, says Gopal. “These are being monitored at the highest level of the government. So I don't see in any manner that the interest has diminished or the efforts have been reduced."

But the numbers demonstrate otherwise. When Mrs. Gandhi was assassinated¹¹ in 1984, there were an estimated 4,000 tigers across India.

Now the official number is about 3500, and some conservationists claim the actual total may be half that.

"There's a complete failure of governance,” conservationist Thapar says. “The key is nobody wants to govern the sector¹² efficiently¹³. They're allowing it to fade away and the tiger will end up being, in another three to four years, it'll be down to a population of maybe 500 to 600. And then the world will start to shout - a bit late in the day."

Those who are supposed to protect the tiger find themselves literally¹⁴ outgunned by poachers. The guards are not in a position to threaten the poachers; there are too few of them to adequately patrol the vast expanses and they do not carry guns.

A former forestry¹⁵ official, Sujoy Banerjee, directs the species conservation program in India for the WWF. He says policy should focus on apprehending¹⁶ the kingpins of the organized tiger trade. 

"There is a need for more concerted action against the big poachers rather than actually the small ones because the small ones will eventually die out themselves because they won't have a market, they won't be able to sell."

India is a major source for the trade, with Interpol estimating that illegal wildlife products generate $12 billion a year worldwide.

With that sort of money in play, conservationists say India's tigers remain in serious danger. 

1 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 endorses   

v.赞同( endorse的第三人称单数 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• There isn't one country in the Middle East that now endorses the Eisenhower Doctrine. 但至今没有一个中东国家认可它。 来自辞典例句
• Whether any of this truly endorses Dr Patel's hypothesis is moot. 这些视频能否真正证明帕特的假设成立还是个未知数。 来自互联网

4 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

6 buffaloes   

n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓

参考例句：

• Some medieval towns raced donkeys or buffaloes. 有些中世纪的城市用驴子或水牛竞赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Water buffaloes supply Egypt with more meat than any other domestic animal. 水牛提供给埃及的肉比任何其它动物都要多。 来自辞典例句

7 lament   

n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹

参考例句：

• Her face showed lament.她的脸上露出悲伤的样子。
• We lament the dead.我们哀悼死者。

8 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

9 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

10 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

11 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

13 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

14 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

15 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

16 apprehending   

逮捕，拘押( apprehend的现在分词 )； 理解

参考例句：

• China has not been totally unsuccessful apprehending corruption suspects. 在逮捕腐化分子方面，中国并非毫无进展。
• Apprehending violence is not an easy task. 惧怕暴力不是一件容易的事。