EZCNN 易英网

The Strange Tale of a Drug Kingpin’s Hippos 《河马流浪记》

课文朗读

课文讲解

 繁體中文譯本

Colombian drug czar Pablo Escobar was one of the cruelest, and wealthiest, criminals of the 20th century. During the 1980s, he was ranked as the 7th richest man on the planet. Escobar used his fortune to eliminate his enemies and also to live a lavish lifestyle. Perhaps his most prized possession was his collection of hippos, which roamed the land around his estate. Now Drug Kingpin Hippos, a one-hour program on Discovery, chronicles Escobar’s life and shows how these massive creatures inadvertently ended up continuing his reign of terror.

哥伦比亚大毒枭巴勃罗．艾斯柯巴是20世纪最凶残且最富有的罪犯之一。在1980年代，他在全球富豪中名列第7。艾斯柯巴利用他的财富来消灭他的敌人，他过着挥霍的生活。也许他最珍贵的财产是漫步在他庄园上的那群河马。现在，在探索频道播放的一小时节目《河马流浪记》，记述了艾斯柯巴的人生并告诉我们这些庞然大物最后如何意外地持续了他的恐怖统治时期。

When Escobar rose to power, he constructed his own personal zoo on his ranch, Hacienda Napoles. At nine times the size of New York Central Park, his estate was enormous. The zoo contained over 700 animals – many of which were purchased from Africa illegally and smuggled into the country.

当艾斯柯巴掌权时，他在他的大牧场上建造了他自己的私人动物园，亚西安塔．纳波里斯。他的庄园非常的广大，是纽约中央公园的9倍大。这座动物园容纳了超过700只动物，其中有许多是从非洲非法购得走私进哥伦比亚的。

Of all these creatures, Escobar loved his hippos the most. Since childhood, Escobar had been fascinated with the enormous beasts. In fact, he was so excited to own some that he reportedly didn’t sleep a wink the night before they arrived at his home. Hippos are undoubtedly amazing creatures. They are among the largest mammals on Earth, and can live on land or in water. However, they are also one of the most ferocious species as well. Although these bulky beasts are herbivores, they are extremely territorial. And when they feel threatened, hippos become unruly and aggressive, which often causes problems for anything in their vicinity.

在这些动物之中，艾斯柯巴最爱他的河马。从小，艾斯柯巴就对这巨大的野兽一直很着迷。事实上，在几头河马要抵达他家的前一晚，据说他因为就要拥有牠们兴奋地无法入眠。河马毫无疑问地是令人惊奇的动物。牠们是地球上最大型的哺乳动物之一，能够生活在陆地上或水中。然而，牠们也是最凶猛的物种之一。虽然这些庞大的野兽是草食动物，但牠们的地域性却十分强烈。当河马觉得受到威胁时，会变得失控难驾驭并具侵略性，这也常对牠们周遭的一切造成问题。

Vocabulary

单词发音

possession [pəˋzɛʃən] n. 所有物；财产

roam [rom] v. 漫步；漫游

estate [ɪsˋtet] n. 庄园

chronicle [ˋkrɑnɪk!] v. 记录；记述 to record in or in the form of a historical record

massive [ˋmæsɪv] adj. 大而重的

reign [ren] n. 统治时期

smuggle [ˋsmʌg!] v. 走私

mammal [ˋmæm!] n. 哺乳动物

ferocious [fəˋroʃəs] adj. 凶猛的

territorial [͵tɛrəˋtorɪəl] adj.〔兽类﹑鸟类等〕守卫自身活动地域的; 领域性的  displaying territoriality; defending a territory from intruders

More Information

单词发音

kingpin [ˋkɪŋ͵pɪn] n.〔在某羣体中〕最重要的人[事物]; 领袖

Colombian [kəˋlʌmbɪən] adj. 哥伦比亚的

czar [zɑr] n. 独裁者

rank [ræŋk] v. 排列

lavish [ˋlævɪʃ] adj. 浪费的; 过分铺张的

prized [praɪzd] adj. 被看作最重要的，被看作最有价值的

hippo [ˋhɪpo] n. 河马

inadvertently [͵ɪnədˋvɝtntlɪ] adv. 不慎地; 非故意地

end up 结果成为,  最终成为  to become eventually; turn out to be

rise to power 上台; 发迹  the act of attaining or gaining access to a new office or right or position (especially the throne)

ranch [ræntʃ] n. 大牧场，大农场

enormous [ɪˋnɔrməs] adj. 巨大的，庞大的

fascinate [ˋfæsn͵et] v. 使着迷，使迷惑

not sleep a wink 没合眼, 一刻也没睡 to not sleep at all

wink [wɪŋk] n.（常用在否定句中）小睡，打盹

undoubtedly [ʌnˋdaʊtɪdlɪ] adv. 毫无疑问地；肯定地

bulky [ˋbʌlkɪ] adj. 庞大的

herbivore [ˋhɝbə͵vɔr] n. 食草动物

unruly [ʌnˋrulɪ] adj. 难驾驭的，任性的 difficult or impossible to discipline, control, or rule

vicinity [vəˋsɪnətɪ] n. 邻近

课文朗读

课文讲解

After Escobar was killed in 1993, the animals living at Hacienda Napoles were relocated to nearby zoos. But the hippos were too large to transport, so officials decided to let themroam the ranch, which was transformed into an amusement park. This decision would later come back to haunt them. In the three decades since the hippos arrived in Columbia, their numbers multiplied from 4 to 32. In search of food, some hippos began leaving the compound and started wandering around a nearby river basin. This placed the local population in grave danger, as there were several reports of hippos attacking people and killed livestock.

在1993年艾斯柯巴被杀后，这些住在亚西安塔．纳波里斯的动物被迁移到附近的动物园。但是河马实在是太大而没法运送，所以官员决定让牠们徜徉在由大牧场改造成的游乐园里。这个决定后来却可能一直困扰他们。从这些河马来到哥伦比亚的30年间，牠们的数量从4只增加到32只。为了觅食，有些河马跑出游乐园徘徊在邻近的河流流域。当出现数则河马攻击人类并杀害家畜的报导时，当地居民陷入了极大的险境。

So, a group of Colombia veterinarians were sent to the area to locate runaway hippos, capture them, and bring them back to Hacienda Napoles. On the show, the vets track down Napolitano, an escaped hippo, and quickly spring into action. Dr. Jorge Caro, the team leader, shoots the animal with a series of tranquilizer darts. Luckily he’s a good shot, so the team is able to temporarily subdue the beasts. But that’s just the beginning.

所以一组哥伦比亚兽医被派去该地要找出那些逃跑的河马，捉住牠们，把牠们带回亚西安塔．纳波里斯。在节目中，这些兽医搜寻到一只名叫纳波里塔诺的逃跑河马后，迅速展开行动。荷黑卡罗医生，这支小队的领队，他连续使用麻醉剂镖来射击那只动物。幸运地，他是名射击好手，所以小队可以暂时地制伏那只野兽。但是那只是开始。

While the hippo is unconscious, a vet successfully castrates Napolitano so it can’t reproduce. Next, the veterinarians quickly construct a cage around the hippo and lift it using a cargo helicopter. However it’s a race against time. By this time, the hippo has been under anesthesia for hours, and if it doesn’t awaken soon, it’ll die. To see if Napolitano makes it, check out Drug Kingpin Hippos when it airs on Discovery.

当那只河马失去意识时，一位兽医顺利地阉割了纳波里塔诺，这样牠就无法繁殖了。接下来，兽医们迅速地在河马身旁围起一个笼子，并且用一台运输直升机把牠运走。然而，这是一场与时间的竞赛。此时，这只河马已经被麻醉了好几个小时了，牠若无法很快转醒就会死去。若想知道这只河马是否能撑得过去，记得收看探索频道播放的《河马流浪记》！

－by Jamie Blackler

Vocabulary

单词发音

haunt [hɔnt] v. 使困扰 to disturb or distress; cause to have anxiety

multiply [ˋmʌltəplaɪ] v. 使（成倍地）增加; 使繁殖 to increase the amount, number, or degree of

veterinarian [͵vɛtərəˋnɛrɪən] n. 兽医

track down 经追踪或搜索而发现 to pursue until found or captured

spring into action 迅速行动 to suddenly begin moving or doing something

temporarily [ˋtɛmpə͵rɛrəlɪ] adv. 暂时地，临时地

unconscious [ʌnˋkɑnʃəs] adj. 失去知觉的

reproduce [͵riprəˋdjus] v. 繁殖

More Information

单词发音

compound [ˋkɑmpaʊnd] n. 用围墙（或篱笆等）围起的场地，院子 an enclosed area

wander around 徘徊，转来转去 to stroll or amble around without any purpose evident; to roam around

wander [ˋwɑndɚ] v. 漫游；闲逛；流浪；徘徊[（+about/off/over/through）]

basin [ˋbesn] n.（河川的）流域

grave [grev] adj. 重大的 serious

livestock [ˋlaɪv͵stɑk] n.（总称）家畜

locate [loˋket] v. 探出，找出  to find by searching, examining, or experimenting

runaway [ˋrʌnə͵we] adj. 逃跑的，逃亡的

tranquilizer [ˋtræŋkwɪ͵laɪzɚ] n. 镇定剂

dart [dɑrt] n. 镖，箭

subdue [səbˋdju] v. 镇压﹐制伏

castrate [ˋkæstret] v. 阉割〔雄性动物或男性〕to remove the testicles of (a male); to remove the ovaries of (a female)

anesthesia [͵ænəsˋθiʒə] n.【医】麻醉

Reading Questions

1.  Where did Pablo Escobar get most of the animals for his personal zoo?

(A)  Many animals were donated by other zoos in Colombia.

(B)  He hired a team of veterinarians to help find them.

(C)  The creatures were imported from several countries overseas.

(D)  Escobar bought them and legally brought them to Colombia.

2.  Which of the following statements about hippos is NOT true?

(A)  They are extremely dangerous animals when frightened.

(B)  They are able to live in water as well as on land.

(C)  They don’t like it when other creatures get too close to them.

(D)  They eat smaller animals, and sometimes people, when they are hungry.

3.  What decision does the Colombia government likely regret?

(A)  Allowing Escobar’s home to be turned into an amusement park.

(B)  Not closely monitoring the hippos staying on Escobar’s ranch.

(C)  Choosing not to build more zoos for hippos during the 1980s.

(D)  Giving people permission to build houses near the river basin.

4.  What is this passage mainly about?

(A)  An unexpected problem caused by misplaced wildlife.

(B)  The methods that a drug czar used to build his fortunate.

(C)  How animal activists in Colombia are saving hippos’ lives.

(D)  Why Pablo Escobar loved hippos more than other animals.

Pablo Escobar's Hippos

HACIENDA NAPOLES PARQUE TEMATICO

Answer