英闻天下——467 Situation of Egypt's Giza Zoo Needs Improvement

 　　They say an elephant never forgets. And at Giza Zoo, feeding the elephants no doubt provides a memorable¹ experience for children. The two old elephants at Giza Zoo are perhaps the most iconic creatures there and are at least 60 years old.

 

　　Built in 1891, the zoo is based on the design of London Zoo. Located on the western side of the River Nile, the zoo covers about 80 acres of green land, and is home to many rare animals and plant species.

 

　　The zoo contains about 175 different species of mammals, birds and reptiles². It is a popular place for Egyptian families despite the decline in Egypt's tourism. Sayed Hussein is a visitor at the zoo.

 

　　"My children's favorite animals are the monkeys, lions, elephants and the seals. I guess they are loved by all children."

 

　　And while the zoo remains³ popular with families, activists⁴ say the conditions at the zoo are getting worse. Some of the animal enclosures are in need of upgrading and more should be done to improve animal welfare.

 

　　Giza Zoo recently introduced some new animals to the Zoo such as a rare Asian white lion and three African giraffes replacing the late African giraffe that died back in 2002.

 

　　But activists such as Dina Zulfakar say the zoo should focus on upgrading the enclosures for its existing animals, and not spending limited resources on new arrivals.

 

　　"Some enclosures, they need urgent attention, the elephants enclosure, the chimps⁵ enclosure, the bears enclosure. They have to be rebuilt, or making new enclosures, it's out of the question in Giza priorities. Why spend the money on new arrivals when we didn't fix the problems we had before?"

 

　　The zoo lost its membership of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums⁶ when a polar bear died in 2004 after it was unable to cope with Cairo's hot climate.

 

　　The zoo's Brown Bear died in 2008, and now the zoo is restricted to only keeping Black American Bears.

 

　　Zulfakar says the cages for the animals are too small, and the cooling system for the bears does not work properly.

 

　　But the zoo says that more than 35 veterinary physicians take care of the health program designed for the animals.

 

　　Director of the zoo, Dr. Fatma Tammam says that while the zoo is not regarded as one of the best zoos in the world, it is still unique.

 

　　"People are always misled in the ranking of Giza Zoo amongst the international zoos. First of all, there is no international ranking for zoos. The international zoos are classified due to their own design and architecture. Giza Zoo takes second place amongst all zoos in the world after the London Zoo for its unique design; followed by an American zoo that has the same design as both London and Giza zoos. Giza zoo takes the British Victorian style as its design. Here in Egypt, people think that this means that we are the second best zoo in the world which is completely false. There are lots of open zoos, safaris⁷ and other wonderful wild places. But Giza Zoo remains unique for its history - it opened in 1891. "

 

　　Giza Zoo, a zoological garden in Giza, Egypt, is one of the few green areas in the city, and includes Giza's largest park. As well as being home to many endangered species, the zoo also has a wide selection of endemic fauna⁸.

 

　　Rare species have been successfully bred in the zoo - including the first Californian sea lion to be born in the Middle East in 2002.

 

　　In terms of the zoo's facilities, the gardens include roads paved with black stone flags from Trieste, footpaths⁹ decorated with pebbles¹⁰ laid out like mosaics¹¹, and a pond with a marble island that is now the zoo's Tea Island.

 

　　The zoo also includes a suspension bridge that lets visitors view the animals from above, which may have been the first elevated viewing area at any zoo in the world.

 

　　For CRI, I am Zhang Wan¹².

1 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

2 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 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。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 chimps   

（非洲）黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少，也太接近于人类，不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

6 aquariums   

n.养鱼缸，水族馆( aquarium的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Biotope aquariums represent the natural environments of ornamental fish. 生态鱼缸表现出观赏鱼的自然生活环境。 来自互联网
• There are aquariums in many cities in the world. 世界上好多城市有水族馆。 来自互联网

7 safaris   

n.游猎，陆路旅行（尤指在东非或中非）( safari的名词复数 )；类似游猎的假日旅行

参考例句：

• I've had too many safaris with rich dentists to listen to any more suicidal ideas. 我已经带过太多有钱牙科医生的狩猎队，我不能再听取任何自杀性建议了。 来自电影对白
• Camel diving safaris are a popular attraction in South Sinai. 骆驼的潜水之旅是南西奈一个受欢迎的景观。 来自互联网

8 fauna   

n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系

参考例句：

• This National Park is an area with unique fauna and flora.该国家公园区域内具有独特的动物种群和植物种群。
• Fauna is a biological notion means all the animal life in a particular region or period. 动物群是一个生物学的概念，指的是一个特定时期或者地区的所有动物。

9 footpaths   

人行小径，人行道( footpath的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are a lot of winding footpaths in the col. 山坳里尽是些曲曲弯弯的羊肠小道。
• There are many footpaths that wind through the village. 有许多小径穿过村子。

10 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

11 mosaics   

n.马赛克( mosaic的名词复数 )；镶嵌；镶嵌工艺；镶嵌图案

参考例句：

• The panel shows marked similarities with mosaics found elsewhere. 这块嵌板和在其他地方找到的镶嵌图案有明显的相似之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The unsullied and shining floor was paved with white mosaics. 干净明亮的地上镶嵌着白色图案。 来自辞典例句

12 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。