环球英语 — 332：Survival in the Wild

　　Voice 1
Hello, I’m Ruby¹ Jones.
Voice 2
And I’m Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight². This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Ken³ Hildebrand lay on the ground. The frozen⁴ earth dug into his face. His whole body hurt. Ken could feel the air around him getting colder. How would he keep warm? The darkness was like a thick, black blanket. Ken could not see much. And even worse, Ken knew that wild animals were close by - wolves and coyotes. A heavy vehicle lay on his legs. It trapped Ken. And there was no point crying out. No one could hear him. Very few people walked through this part of the mountains. He was not sure how long he could stay alive...
Voice 2
Ken’s story is one of an amazing survival⁵. Ken is fifty-five (55) years old. He lives in a very beautiful part of Canada - the Rocky Mountains. Ken normally⁶ works⁷ as a teacher. And he is also a paramedic - he is part of a medical team. In his job, he cares for people who have just had an accident of some kind. But, he did not know that one day he would have to use these skills on himself!
Voice 1
Ken liked to hunt animals. He set traps for them in the mountains where he lived. From time to time, he would inspect the traps. He would see if they had captured⁸ any animals. To do this, Ken had a special vehicle - an all terrain⁹ vehicle, or ATV. An ATV is like a kind of motorcycle. But it has four wheels instead of two. These wheels are large - they prevent the vehicle from falling over easily. Also, the wheels have tyres made of thick, strong rubber. Designers made them this way so that they can travel on any kind of land - rocks, sand or grass. Ken should have been very safe driving around.
Voice 2
However, on the eighth of January 2008, an accident did happen. Ken was inspecting his traps. The traps had captured some animals. So Ken took them out and killed them. Then, he climbed back on to his ATV with the bodies. He drove away, aiming to inspect more of his traps. Suddenly, his ATV hit a rock. Ken flew into the air. He landed hard on the ground. And then, to his surprise, his ATV landed on top of him!
Voice 1
Ken landed face down. However, he was able to move the top half of his body a little bit. He tried to push the ATV off his legs. But he did not have enough power to lift it. Ken stayed still and thought for a minute. This was an emergency. He was a paramedic. He dealt with emergencies in his job. He was also a teacher of emergency survival skills. So, surely he could deal with this situation? He had to think clearly. He had to act like a survivor¹⁰!
Voice 2
Ken had been prepared for his trip into the mountains. He had a bag full of food, water and medicine. But it had fallen far away from him when he fell! Ken remembers:
Voice 3
“I had everything that I needed. But I just could not reach it.”
Voice 2
Also, he could hear wild animals gathering¹¹ nearby. Ken landed near the bodies of the dead animals. And the wolves and coyotes could smell them. They were ready to jump at Ken to reach this meat! But Ken was carrying a whistle. He blew into this small metal pipe. The high sound frightened the animals. And they kept their distance. But for how long?
Voice 1
One day and night passed. Then another. And another. Ken was doing all he could to keep his body alive. He dug ice out of the frozen ground for water to drink. He took some meat from the dead animals next to him to eat. At night, the temperature dropped to minus seventeen degrees. Ken remembered about the animals he had trapped. Slowly, he moved his hands to reach for one of them. Then, he managed to cut the animal’s skin from its body. This took a lot of effort! Ken placed the skin under his stomach. He knew that this part of the body loses heat quickly. And he had to keep as warm as possible.
Voice 2
But what about his spirit? How strong was Ken’s will to live? He says:
Voice 3
“I thought of my family and God and that was it - that made me want to survive.”
Voice 2
More time passed. And Ken felt sure he was going to die. He had leg injuries. His body was suffering from lack of food and water. He was also suffering from the effects of extreme cold. He had been in the wild for four days. How much longer could he survive?
Voice 1
A local man was out walking in the mountains. He had never walked in that particular area before. But for some reason, he decided¹² to go there. He found Ken lying under his ATV. And he quickly telephoned for an emergency rescue vehicle. Ken explains:
Voice 3
“There was a reason the man came to that place. He told me that he had this strange feeling that he should walk there - even though he had never been there before.”
Voice 2
Rescuers finally came. And they took Ken to hospital. Some one telephoned Ken’s wife and daughter. They were shocked to hear what had happened. They had been away. So they did not know that Ken was missing¹³. They were very thankful that Ken was still alive!
Voice 1
Ken will need time to recover from this experience. But he firmly believes that his rescue was a miracle¹⁴ from God. Ken’s survival skills were important, but Ken also believes that God led Ken’s rescuer. He thanks God for helping¹⁵ him survive this frightening experience.
 

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

4 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

5 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

6 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

7 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

8 captured   

俘获( capture的过去式和过去分词 )； 夺取； 夺得； 引起（注意、想像、兴趣）

参考例句：

• Allied troops captured over 300 enemy soldiers. 盟军俘虏了300多名敌方士兵。
• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。

9 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

10 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

11 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。

12 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。

13 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

14 miracle   

n.奇迹，令人惊奇的人或事

参考例句：

• The doctors said that his recovery was a miracle. 医生们说他的复原是件奇事。
• It is simply a miracle that rice should grow in such a place.稻子竟能在这样的地方生长，这实在是个奇迹。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。