【英语时差8,16】虎迹寻觅

Early results from a count of tigers in eastern India are providing hope for efforts to save that animal. A team of Indian environmental workers recently counted the tigers in the Sunderbans forest. The workers searched the ground and collected hundreds of footprints. Each tiger has a paw print that can be used for identification¹, just like a human fingerprint². Gathering³ prints is dangerous. The collector could come across the owner of the prints at any time. The Indian government started Project Tiger in nineteen-seventy-three in an effort to save the cats. But since the nineteen-seventies, the number of Indian tigers has dropped from about five thousand to an estimated three-thousand-five-hundred. One problem is illegal hunting. Tiger parts are highly valued in East Asia for use in traditional medicines. Another problem is development. People and tigers compete for food and space. Tigers kill an estimated fifty villagers a year in the Sunderbans forest. Forest officials are trying to improve economic conditions for villagers.

1 identification   

n.视为同一，证明同一，确认

参考例句：

• He's made a formal identification of the body.他正式确认了死者身份。
• We should have identification card on the person when we go out.我们外出时应随身携带身份证。

2 fingerprint   

n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹

参考例句：

• The fingerprint expert was asked to testify at the trial.指纹专家应邀出庭作证。
• The court heard evidence from a fingerprint expert.法院听取了指纹专家的证词。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。