美国国家公共电台 NPR--4 children are hospitalized after surviving 40 days in the Colombian jungle

4 children are hospitalized after surviving 40 days in the Colombian jungle

Transcript¹

The children are recovering at a hospital in Colombia after being found alive in the Amazon — 40 days after the plane they were on crashed. Questions remain over how they managed to survive.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

We're going to talk now about an epic² story of survival in Colombia. There, search parties had spent weeks trying to find four Indigenous³ children, including a baby, who survived a plane crash in the Amazon jungle. Finally, after 40 days, all four were found alive. Reporter John Otis joins us from Bogota via Skype.

Good morning.

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

FADEL: Wow, John, I mean, this is such an incredible story. Forty days, and these children are found alive. How are people reacting to the news that these kids survived?

OTIS: It is just fantastic news. In fact, the Colombian government is calling this a miracle because it really seemed like there was going to be no way these kids were going to make it out of the jungle after being there for so long.

Their single-engine charter plane went down way back on May 1 in a very dense⁶ rainforest in southern Colombia. It's an area full of jaguars⁷ and poisonous snakes and...

FADEL: Whoa.

OTIS: ...Fast-flowing rivers, as well as guerrilla fighters and the occasional land mine. So there was danger all over the place. In fact, the conditions were so tough that it took search parties two weeks just to find the wreckage⁸ of the aircraft. And at the crash site, they found the dead bodies of three adults, including the children's mother.

But her four kids, who are ages 13, 9 and 4, as well as an 11-month-old baby, were missing. So the Colombian army teamed up with local Indigenous groups who know the jungle better than the soldiers, and they began picking up clues. They quickly found footprints and a diaper and then a baby bottle. So they knew the kids were out there someplace.

FADEL: I mean, you're describing poison, jaguars, occasional land mines. How did these children survive?

OTIS: Well, they managed to avoid some of those problems, and the main issue was food. But these are Huitoto Indigenous children who grew up in the jungle. They're accustomed to the rainforest. So at least some of the older kids knew what was edible⁵ and what may be poisonous. So they were able to forage⁹ for things like passion fruit. They ate seeds and roots, and since it was the rainy season, they were able to find some water. There was also a bit of food in the aircraft wreckage. And finally, army helicopters tossed out food boxes, and some of those found their way into the children's hands.

FADEL: Why did it take so long to find them?

OTIS: Well, the problem is they didn't stay put at the crash site. They may have been spooked from the accident and in a state of shock from finding their deceased mother. They may have wanted to just get away from that tragic¹⁰...

FADEL: Yeah.

OTIS: ...Place and try to walk out of the jungle on their own. And this made it much harder for the search teams. All along, helicopters were broadcasting messages from the kid's grandmother in the Huitoto language and telling them to stay put and that help was on the way. But the noise of the choppers and the barking of the search dogs actually scared the children, who spent much of their time actually hiding.

And at one point, the Indigenous members of the search party - they became so frustrated¹¹ that they took ayahuasca, which is a psychedelic brew¹² made from jungle plants, to see if that would provide them with some visions and point them in the right direction.

FADEL: Wow. So how were they finally rescued?

OTIS: The first to find them was a Belgian Shepherd search-and-rescue dog. The human search party finally caught up with the children late Friday afternoon, and here's what that moment sounded like.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Non-English language spoken).

OTIS: So in this video, you can hear the search crew chanting in Huitoto and giving thanks that they have found all four children. The kids were badly dehydrated and malnourished, but they are in stable condition in a hospital here in Bogota, and doctors are expecting them to make a full recovery.

FADEL: Incredible. John, thanks for bringing us this really miraculous¹³ story.

OTIS: Thanks for having me.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

3 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

6 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

7 jaguars   

n.（中、南美洲的）美洲虎( jaguar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jaguars are largely nocturnal creatures. 美洲虎基本上是夜行动物。 来自辞典例句
• Jaguars (Panthera onca) once ranged from southern South America to theUnited States. 美洲虎曾经分布在北美洲南部和美洲南部。 来自互联网

8 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

9 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

10 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

11 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 brew   

v.酿造，调制

参考例句：

• Let's brew up some more tea.咱们沏些茶吧。
• The policeman dispelled the crowd lest they should brew trouble.警察驱散人群，因恐他们酿祸。

13 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。