VOA标准英语2012--Former Military Officer Fights African Poachers

 

Former Military Officer Fights African Poachers

Ofir Drori traveled to Kenya between high school and the start of his military service. He's been fascinated ever since.

"I chased giraffes, zebras. I saw all these interesting things. I was just zigzagging¹ through all these beautiful things, all this beautiful world," said Drori.

On his first day there, he wandered around and got lost. A Maasai family found and eventually adopted him.

He says his fascination² with the continent turned him into an activist³ for endangered species.

In the past four months, he says, Cameroon alone has lost 400 elephants to poaching and gorillas⁵ are faring even worse.

"Illegal wildlife trading is a professional, very well organized illegal trading. It's a mafia. This Mafia drives chimpanzees, gorillas, lions to extinction," Drori explained.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Washington says elephants and gorillas are being poached for their meat and elephants for their ivory. The result is extinctions in some areas of central Africa. But WWF also says some progress is being made in the southeastern part of Cameroon.

With his network of spies and informants, who pose as buyers or traffickers, Drori gathers video evidence of poaching.

Ten years ago, he founded LAGA(the Last Great Ape), which is also the title of his new book, co-authored with his best friend David McDannald whom he met in Kenya.

He says his team has been able to oversee⁷ 50 prosecutions⁸ for ivory trafficking and 25 for gorilla⁴ poaching in Cameroon since 2004. But he says catching⁹ poachers is not his biggest challenge.

"The major problem in fighting wildlife crime is corruption¹⁰," said Drori. "These are big people, they have a lot of money, they are trying to bribe¹¹ their way in different places and that's what we do. We fight corruption."

It's dangerous work, but whether his hair is being pulled by a chimp⁶ or he's preparing a snack for another one in his kitchen, he says making a difference is what counts.

"Every time you have some kind of injustice¹², you realize that I can make a difference so responsibility is how I arrive to this," Drori added.

Drori's program has been replicated¹³ in six countries: Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Chad, Nigeria, and Guinea. 

1 zigzagging   

v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀

参考例句：

• She walked along, zigzagging with her head back. 她回头看着，弯弯扭扭地向前走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We followed the path zigzagging up the steep slope. 我们沿着小径曲曲折折地爬上陡坡。 来自互联网

2 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 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。

5 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》

6 chimp   

n.黑猩猩

参考例句：

• In fact,the color of gorilla and chimp are light-color.其实大猩猩和黑猩猩的肤色是较为浅的。
• The chimp is the champ.猩猩是冠军。

7 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

8 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

9 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

12 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

13 replicated   

复制( replicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 重复； 再造； 再生

参考例句：

• Later outplant the seedlings in a replicated permanent test plantation. 以后苗木出圃栽植成重复的永久性试验林。
• The phage has replicated and the donor cells have lysed. 噬菌体已复制和给体细胞已发生裂解。