VOA标准英语2011--Rwanda's Mountain Gorillas Making Comeback

Rwanda's Mountain Gorillas² Making Comeback

In the 1980s, the movie Gorillas in the Mist, made Rwanda's almost-extinct mountain gorillas famous. Now, they have come back from the brink³, having increased their numbers three-fold to almost 800. The gorillas are drawing tourists from all over the world to the East African nation.

These mountain gorillas are part a clan⁴ called 'Hirwa' that live together in a quiet corner of the Rwandan mountains, fiercely protected by the government and international aid organizations.

The gorillas are like national heroes in Rwanda, bringing in 90 percent of the tiny country's tourism revenue. Every morning, tourists, usually paying $500 each for a permit, pack into the Volcanoes National Park headquarters and prepare to hike into the woods to spend an hour observing a gorilla¹ family.

But despite years of successful, aggressive conservation efforts, experts say the animals still face grave dangers from their human neighbors.

Dr. Jan Ramer specializes in gorilla care for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. She says trauma⁵ caused by snares⁶, set by locals attempting to trap other kinds of wildlife, is the number one cause of death for these gorillas. Actual gorilla trafficking is now a rare occurrence.

Even so, this baby gorilla, "Ihirwe" which means luck, was rescued from poachers last summer. Dr. Ramer says it was the first deliberate gorilla-napping she has seen since 10 gorillas were murdered in neighboring Congo a few years ago, as a part of the on-going human conflict.

"We were stunned⁷ because this is the first mountain gorilla that has been taken from the forest that we are aware of and confiscated⁸ since 2007," said Ramer.

Dr. Ramer says gorillas also live practically on top of some of the most crowded and poorest areas in Africa, leaving the animals constantly vulnerable to encroachment⁹, human diseases, and poachers.

But tour guides at the park say much of the poaching has been slowed because many former poachers now work for the government.

And while these gorillas are no longer movie stars, locals say the government's plans to share 5 percent of the gorilla-tourism revenue with the community is helping¹⁰ to develop this impoverished¹¹ area. And in one of the poorest countries on earth, villagers say this means more to them than the fun of living near the gorillas.

1 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

2 gorillas   

n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
• Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

4 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

5 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

6 snares   

n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He shoots rabbits and he sets snares for them. 他射杀兔子，也安放陷阱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself fallen unawares into the snares of death. 我自己不知不觉跌进了死神的陷阱。 来自辞典例句

7 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

8 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

9 encroachment   

n.侵入，蚕食

参考例句：

• I resent the encroachment on my time.我讨厌别人侵占我的时间。
• The eagle broke away and defiantly continued its encroachment.此时雕挣脱开对方，继续强行入侵。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》