VOA慢速英语2014 寻宝者在肯尼亚中部寻找隐藏的宝藏

 

As It Is - Seeking 'Hidden Treasure' in Central Kenya 寻宝者在肯尼亚中部寻找隐藏的宝藏

Is there buried treasure in a cave in central Kenya?  Reports of such have created great excitement in the village of Maraigushu. Some villagers even dream of becoming rich. Others see it as a dangerous hoax¹.

It is not clear how the rumorstarted. But the story goes that white settlers hid valuable metals in a cave near the village many years ago. Reports say the hidden treasures are worth millions of dollars. Treasure hunters reportedly are searching for gold, mercury and other precious metals.

A local man, Edward Maina, says the rumors³ have brought hundreds of treasure hunters into town to dig in the cave.

“It’s not long ago that people came and they went to excavate⁴ the cave, and we don’t know them. We heard them saying that in the 1800s a white man left treasures inside the cave and closed it off.”

Residents say treasure seekers first entered the cave nearly two months ago.  Police detained them and local officials closed the cave entrance. However, excavators later broke in again.

No gold or mercury has been found. However, the cave does hold another important resource: water.

Many local people depend on that natural spring water. Officials worry that digging could affect, or even contaminate, the water supply.

Gaka Mwaniki is a local official.

“There’s nothing. We’ve seen ourselves there’s nothing in those caves, they are excavating⁵ for the first time, it’s natural. It’s the water table that they’re interfering⁶ with.”

Politicians from the nearby town of Naivasha are accusing one another of supporting the treasure hunt. There are also reports that unemployed⁷ young people are being pressured to dig in dangerous conditions. 

Local resident James Mbugua Njenga wants the government to take control of the situation.

“If at all there’s treasure inside there, let the government come and excavate and preserve the water table.”

Maybe the cave does hold metal riches. Maybe the reports are just a hoax.  But the mystery of the cave and the hunt for treasure continues.

I’m Marsha James.

Words in this Story

hoax- n.an act that is meant to trick or deceive people

rumor² – n. information or a story that is passed from person to person but has not been proven to be true

excavator – n. a person who digs up things that have been buried for a long time

contaminate – v. to make something dangerous, dirty, or impure by adding something harmful or undesirable to it

1 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

2 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

3 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 excavate   

vt.挖掘，挖出

参考例句：

• They plan to excavate a large hole.他们计划挖个大洞。
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs.一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。

5 excavating   

v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句

6 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

7 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。