2007年VOA标准英语-Four Rare Gorillas Killed in Congo, Another Fea

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
26 July 2007

Four rare mountain gorillas² have been killed after gunmen crept up on them and opened fire in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park. Nick Wadhams has more on the story from Nairobi.

The gorillas were shot Sunday night. One was pregnant and another was a female named Safari³, who received widespread international attention
when she gave birth in February.

Her five-month-old baby was still breast feeding and was initially⁴ feared to have died of dehydration⁵. But rangers⁶ reported finding the baby, Ndeze, on Thursday, and took him for medical treatment.

The attacks are devastating⁷ for the gorilla¹ population in Virunga, where some 100 of the world's 700 mountain gorillas live. At least three others have been killed in Virunga so far this year.

The director of the Nairobi-based conservation group WildlifeDirect, Emmanuel de Merode, says two others from the group of 12 gorillas were missing.

De Merode says the gorillas were probably killed by traders who cut down trees in Virunga to be sold as charcoal⁸ in Rwanda and the nearby city of Goma, which has about 500,000 people and a charcoal industry that is worth about $30 million each year. Park rangers have campaigned hard to keep charcoal traders out, infuriating them.

"In the last year there's been a huge increase in pressure on the park for timber to supply the charcoal industry both for the town of Goma which is a town of half a million inhabitants, and Rwanda," De Merode said. "So what we find is that the rangers are under a lot more pressure than they used to be because they're the ones defending the park against the destruction of the forest, and that forest is also the gorillas' habitat, and now what's happening is they're confronting huge financial interests."

The situation in Virunga has become worse recently because Rwanda has banned the production of charcoal, which is used for cooking fires. That has sent even more traders across the border and into Virunga for wood.

The gorillas have also come under pressure from armed militias⁹ that hunt the animals for their meat. The nearly 8,000 square-kilometer park is home to a handful of militias and more than 100 rangers have been killed in recent years trying to protect the wildlife.

De Merode says the rangers are the main line of defense¹⁰ between poachers and militias in the park.

"What is true is there's a huge determination on the part of those rangers to do their job," De Merode said. "They've remained committed to their job throughout the last 12 years of civil war in Congo. Many of those years they didn't receive their salaries, many of them died protecting the park. And so that's very much where our hopes are tied with those Congo rangers on the ground. They really are professional, and they just need support."

During Congo's civil war, the park became a hiding place for various factions¹¹. Tourism has only begun to inch back up now that the civil war is over, but officials worry that the new killings¹² will give further reason for people to stay away.

1 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

2 gorillas   

n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
• Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 safari   

n.远征旅行(探险、考察)；探险队，狩猎队

参考例句：

• When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.我们远行狩猎时，喜欢露天生火做饭。
• They went on safari searching for the rare black rhinoceros.他们进行探险旅行，搜寻那稀有的黑犀牛。

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

6 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

7 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

8 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

9 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

12 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。