国家地理-2008-03-25 Newborns of Jasper 贾斯珀国家公园的新生儿

At Jasper National Park, high in the Canadian Rockies, spring is a full, fragrant¹ bloom: food is plentiful² and new life emerges. But spring does not come easily, and for newborn youngsters dangers abound³. Many must learn to run first and ask questions later.

Spring doesn't come easily to the Canadian Rockies. Winter never leaves without a fight. On mountainsides high above the valleys, bighornsheepgear up for an age-old ritual. These males are bachelorrams. They areroughhousing now, but in the fall, these clashes will turn deadly serious when they compete for the attention of ewes. But now, it's spring and the ewes are focusing their attention on other matters.
 
Lambs spend their first month close to their mothers. For sheep, survival depends on quickness and agility⁴. Throughout their lives, they'll be closely watched by predators⁵. These little lambs must learn to run first and ask questions later. This time, evading⁶ a lone⁷ wolf is pretty easy especially on a craggy mountainside. But sheep have many enemies out here.
 
Jasper is in full fragrant bloom. Food is plentiful and new life is emerging. Aspen trees cast their seeds to the wind. An elk⁸ gives birth in a forest hideaway. For the next few days, the mother will conceal⁹ her calf¹⁰ even from other elk. She must chase off last year's daughter, so she can nurse this year's son.
 
Elk aren't the only one with new arrivals. Coyote pups are already up and about. Their father guards them while their mother is out on a hunt. Energy and curiosity are these pups' greatest assets. There will be much to learn in coming months. Fortunately for them, coyotes are doting¹¹ parents.
 
But having a family of happy rambunctious¹² coyotes so near doesn't sitwellwith the mother elk. They are meat-eaters and make her nervous. After all, she has a newborn to look after. The pups dive back into the den¹³ she approaches. Their father remains¹⁴ outside, holding the high ground. Remarkably¹⁵, the elk takes the offensive, but she can't get at the pint-sized pups, they are safe in their den. When the coyote mother unexpectedly returns, the stalemate is broken. It's time to move on. The neighborhood has gone to the dogs.
 
bighorn sheep
A wild sheep (Ovis canadensis) of the mountains of western North America, the male of which has massive, curved horns. Also called mountain sheep, Rocky Mountain sheep
大角羊，加拿大盘羊：北美洲西部山区产的一种野羊（大角羊 加拿大盘羊）， 雄性有粗大卷曲的角 也作 mountain sheep， Rocky Mountain sheep
 
gear up
If someone is gearing up for a particular activity, they are preparing to do it. If they are geared up to do a particular activity, they are prepared to do it.
　 ...another indication that the Government is gearing up for an election...
　 The factory was geared up to make 1,100 cars a day.
 
bachelor
A male animal that does not mate during the breeding season, especially a young male fur seal kept from the breeding territory by older males.
尚未交配的小雄兽：在繁殖季节中未交配的雄性动物，特别指被较年长的雄性拒于交配领地之外的年轻的雄性海豹
 
ram
an adult male sheep
 
roughhouse
to play roughly or pretend to fight
 
ewe
a female sheep
 
craggy
a mountain that is craggy is very steep and covered in rough rocks
 
aspen tree
a type of tree from western North America with leaves that shake a lot in the wind 白杨树
 
elk
one of the largest types of living deer, found in N Europe, N Asia, and N America ?罕, 驼鹿, 赤鹿（产於北欧﹑ 亚洲北部和北美洲）
coyote
A small, wolflike carnivorous animal (Canis latrans) native to western North America and found in many other regions of the continent. Also called prairie wolf
丛林狼：一种产于北美西部的外表象狼，体形较小的食肉动物（犬属 山狗） ，但在北美大陆的许多其他地区都可以见到 也作 prairie wolf
 
doting
If you say that someone is, for example, a doting mother, husband, or friend, you mean that they show a lot of love for someone.
 
rambunctious
noisy, full of energy, and behaving in a way that cannot be controlled
three rambunctious kids
 
sitwell (with)
v. Find favor with; please. The reduced school budget did not sit well with the teachers.
 
pint-sized
small - usually used humorously
the pint-sized child star
 
stalemate
stage of a dispute, contest, etc at which further action or discussion by either side seems to be impossible; deadlock 僵持阶段; 僵局

1 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

2 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

3 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。

4 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

5 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 evading   

逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• Segmentation of a project is one means of evading NEPA. 把某一工程进行分割，是回避《国家环境政策法》的一种手段。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Too many companies, she says, are evading the issue. 她说太多公司都在回避这个问题。

7 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

8 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

9 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

10 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

11 doting   

adj.溺爱的，宠爱的

参考例句：

• His doting parents bought him his first racing bike at 13.宠爱他的父母在他13岁时就给他买了第一辆竞速自行车。
• The doting husband catered to his wife's every wish.这位宠爱妻子的丈夫总是高度满足太太的各项要求。

12 rambunctious   

adj.喧闹的；粗鲁的

参考例句：

• Their rambunctious son always got into trouble.他们那个不受管束的儿子老是惹麻烦。
• It's not the chirping,rambunctious play that they did when they first arrived.他们现在已经不像刚开始见面那会儿，总是冲着对方乱叫，或者在玩耍时动作粗暴。

13 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。