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Saving the South China Tiger 拯救消失中的华南虎

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In this year of the tiger, a call has gone out to protect a subspecies of the majestic jungle cat that could be extinct in the wild by the time the next year of the tiger rolls around in 2022. The South China tiger, the only subspecies ___1___ to China, is currently the most critically endangered of all subspecies in the world.

在今年虎年，有一份向外发布的请求，呼吁大众保护一种雄伟丛林大猫的亚种，因为这种大猫在下一个虎年（2022年）可能就会从野外消失。这种大猫叫做华南虎，是唯一中国特有的老虎亚种，且濒临绝种的程度在所有老虎亚种中最为危急。

These tigers are small ___2___ tiger standards, measuring just 2.6 meters from head to tail. They have been hunted to the brink of extinction for their meat and organs, which are valuable ___3___ in Chinese medicine. During the country’s Cultural Revolution, tigers were regarded as pests, and a campaign was ___4___ to exterminate them. As a result, in half a century, their population in the wild has fallen from ___5___ 4,000 to virtually zero. A South China tiger has not been seen in the wild since 1983, and all hopes of rebuilding those numbers lies with the 67 tigers currently being ___6___ in zoos around China.

这种老虎从头到尾只有2.6米长，比老虎的平均体型还小。由于老虎肉和器官是很高价值的传统中医药材，使得华南虎遭人猎杀至绝种的边缘。在中国文化大革命期间，华南虎被视为有害动物，一场企图将牠们消灭殆尽的行动因此展开。结果在半个世纪内，华南虎的数量从4,000只降至近乎于零。自1983年起就没有人在野外发现过华南虎的踪迹。重建华南虎数量的希望就落在67头被关在中国各地动物园中的老虎身上。

Since 2000, the South China Tiger Advisory Office, which is based at the Minnesota Zoo, has been working in tandem with the Chinese government to reintroduce South China tigers into the wild. The plan is to place ___7___ captive females in a reserve, the Hupinshan-Houhe National Nature Reserve Complex, where the cubs will be born, and hopefully, go on to have cubs ___8___ their own. Because all the captive tigers are so closely related, the ___9___ of future generations will have to be supplemented with those of their subspecies to prevent them from dying out. If all goes according to plan, China will ___10___ be home to a self-sustaining, free-ranging population of South China tigers once more,

自2000年以来，位于明尼苏达动物园的「华南虎顾问办公室」开始与中国政府合作，致力让华南虎重回野外生活。这计划主要是将受监禁且怀孕的雌虎安置在壸瓶山／后河国家自然保护区，让幼虎在保护区内出生，并希望牠们就这样继续繁衍后代。由于那些受监禁的华南虎血缘都很相近，新一代华南虎的基因需要加入其他亚种老虎的基因以增加多样性才能避免绝种。如果一切都照计划顺利进行，未来中国将再度成为华南虎独立生活、自由奔跑的家。

−by Joe Henley

Vocabulary

单词发音

extinct [ɪkˋstɪŋkt] adj. 绝种的，灭绝的

critically [ˋkrɪtɪklɪ] adv. 危急地；严重地

endangered [ɪnˋdendʒɚd] adj. 快要绝种的

standard [ˋstændɚd] n. 标准，水平

to/on the brink of  在……之边缘

pest [pɛst] n. 有害的动物，害虫

exterminate [ɪkˋstɝmə͵net] v. 灭绝；消灭

virtually [ˋvɝtʃʊəlɪ] adv. 差不多

lie with 决定于...

captive [ˋkæptɪv] adj. 被俘的；受监禁的

reserve [rɪˋzɝv] n. 保留地；保护区

supplement [ˋsʌpləmənt] v. 补充

More Information

单词发音

subspecies [sʌbˋspiʃɪz] n.【生】亚种

roll [rol] n. 名单; 名册 a list of names of something belonging to a group

in tandem 一前一后地, 协力地 together

tandem [ˋtændəm] adj. & adv. 一前一后的(地)

population [͵pɑpjəˋleʃən] n. 族群

advisory [ədˋvaɪzərɪ] adj. 顾问的，咨询的

cub [kʌb] n.（熊，狮，虎，狼等的）幼兽

South China Tigers on the Brink of Extinction!

Read more:

华南虎故乡之——湖南壶瓶山国家级自然保护区

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