【英语时差8,16】澳洲西南部搁浅的鲸豚重返大海

 Eleven long-finned pilot whales were returned to sea after surviving a mass stranding¹ on a remote southwest Australian beach, but they appeared disoriented and were trying to return to shore, an official said.

The animals were trucked overland to a bay with deeper waters in an attempt to save them after nearly 70 others died when they beached themselves in Western Australia state.

A group of 87 whales and five bottlenose dolphins beached themselves in Hamelin Bay. One dolphin and 72 whales died before they could be rescued.

Volunteers and government employees worked all day and overnight to stabilize² the survivors³, keeping them wet and moving them into one pod in a safe holding area with slightly deeper water.

Most beached whales die of dehydration⁴, overheating or from their weight, which can crush their internal organs once they leave the weightlessness of the water.

Rough seas and high waves hampered⁵ the rescue effort at Hamelin Bay and officials decided⁶ to move the surviving animals overland to deeper, more protected waters in Flinders Bay, about 20 kilometers away.

Four whales and four dolphins were pushed back to sea before the move. The remaining 11 whales—which measure up to 6 meters long and weigh up to 3.5 tons—were loaded into trucks by slings⁷ and individually transported to the new location.

1 stranding   

n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The airport had to be closed, stranding tourists. 机场被迫关闭，造成游客滞留。 来自辞典例句
• The stream of history had changed course away from him, stranding him in failure. 历史潮流已经改变方向，与他背道而驰，使他陷于失败之中。 来自辞典例句

2 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

3 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

4 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

5 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 slings   

抛( sling的第三人称单数 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• "Don't you fear the threat of slings, Perched on top of Branches so high?" 矫矫珍木巅，得无金丸惧？ 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Used for a variety of things including slings and emergency tie-offs. 用于绳套，设置保护点，或者紧急情况下打结。