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Houtong’s Famous Felines 猫咪星据点：猴硐

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

About 45 minutes from Taipei by train is an unusual mountain town. In Chinese, it’s called Houtong, which translates roughly to “monkey cave.” However, the traditional Chinese character for cave is written with a component that means stone, rather than the usual one that means water. That’s because Houtong used to be a coal-mining town. Water in the mines was a serious concern, so superstitious residents changed the character.

距离台北约45分钟的火车车程，有一座非比寻常的山城。它的中文名字叫「猴硐」，粗略的意思是「猴子山洞」；然而，「洞」的繁体中文，不用平常水部的「洞」，却替换为石部的「硐」，这是因为猴硐以前是一座开采煤矿的城镇，矿区里有水是件令人极度忧心的事，所以迷信的居民便改了这个汉字。

Houtong thrived in Japanese colonial period, when there was great demand for coal, both for powering trains and for heating homes. But by the 1970s, coal had been replaced by heating oil in homes, and most of Taiwan’s trains ran on electricity. As a result, the coal mines were gradually abandoned. Their legacy survives in a small museum dedicated to the town’s glory days. Only about 200 people still live here. It’s a familiar story of decline repeated in many of Taiwan’s mountain communities.

猴硐兴起于日治时期，那时由于火车动力与家用热能，所以对煤的需求量很大。但到了70年代，家用煤已被热燃油取代，而台湾大部分的火车也电气化了；也因如此，煤矿便慢慢地被舍弃了，但矿区遗留的东西现在保存在一间专用于纪念城镇往昔光辉日子的小博物馆里。现在猴硐大约只剩下200人居住，而这种熟悉的山城没落故事，重复地在台湾上演。

So coal mining explains the “cave” part of the town’s name, but what about the “monkey” part? Well, it seems there used to be a lot of monkeys in the area, though there’s hardly any sign of them now. Take the train to Houtong today, and as soon as you arrive at the station, you are greeted by colorful pictures of a very different animal. And when you leave the station, you’ll see something quite unexpected.

所以煤矿开采解释了猴硐的「硐」字由来，那「猴」字呢？以前那个地区似乎是有很多猴子，但现在你很难看到牠们的踪迹了。现在搭火车到猴硐，一到站，迎接你的是另一种大不相同动物色彩缤纷的照片，走出车站后，你将看到绝对令你意想不到的东西！

Vocabulary

单词发音

roughly [ˋrʌflɪ] adv. 粗略地；大约

component [kəmˋponənt] n. 零件；成分

concern [kənˋsɝn] n. 担心，关心的事

superstitious [͵supɚˋstɪʃəs] adj. 迷信的

resident [ˋrɛzədənt] n. 居民

thrive [θraɪv] v. 兴旺，繁荣

abandon [əˋbændən] v. 丢弃；抛弃，遗弃

dedicate [ˋdɛdə͵ket] to 奉献给

glory [ˋglorɪ] n. 繁荣；昌盛

decline [dɪˋklaɪn] n. 衰退，衰落

More Information

单词发音

feline [ˋfilaɪn] n. 猫科动物

Chinese character 中文字

coal-mining 煤矿开采

colonial [kəˋlonjəl] adj. 殖民地的

课文朗读

课文讲解

As soon as you enter Houtong, the first thing you notice is cats. There are more than a hundred of them, in every color and pattern imaginable: black, white, gray, orange, tabby, and calico. You see them wherever you look: playing in the street, walking along the walls, lying on rooftops, and hiding in corners or under cars.

一进到猴硐，你第一个注意到的就是猫。这里有超过一百只的猫，有着各式各样你想得到的花色──黑的、白的、灰的、橘的、虎斑的和花斑的。不管到哪里你都可以看到牠们的踪影：牠们在街上玩耍、墙上漫步、卧躺在屋顶上，有的还躲在角落或车子底下。

Unlike street cats elsewhere, the cats of Houtong appear healthy, clean, and well fed. But where did they all come from? Years ago, one retired lady started feeding stray cats and taking care of newborn kittens. As their numbers grew, a group of volunteers began collecting food and raising money to pay for medicine and visits to the vet. Soon the whole community was helping out. Today the townspeople are fond, and protective, of their feline friends. Outsiders aren’t allowed to abandon pets here, but nonetheless, the number of cats in Houtong is increasing steadily.

跟它处街猫不一样的地方是，猴硐的猫看起来很健康、干净，且被喂养得很好。但牠们全都打哪来呢？几年前，一位退休的女士开始喂食流浪猫，并照顾刚出生的小猫。因为猫咪数量增加，一群志工开始帮忙募集食物并募款来支付药品及猫咪看兽医的费用；很快地，整个小区都一起来帮忙了。现在村民很喜爱并很保护他们的猫朋友，外人是不允许来这里弃养宠物的，但即使如此，猴硐村里的猫咪数目仍稳定地在增加。

The number of visitors to the town is growing, too. A few years ago, someone passing through noticed the cats, took some photos, and posted them on her blog. They were a big hit, since people on the Internet are crazy about cute pictures of cats, and soon Houtong was known unofficially as “Cat Village”. Now people come from all over to see the cats, play with them, feed them, and, of course, take pictures of their own. They also buy snacks, and lots of cat-related souvenirs, like T-shirts, purses, and cell phone decorations. So it’s no wonder that the locals love their cats: they helped bring this little town back to life.

而小镇的访客也增加了！几年前，有个人经过这里注意到那些猫咪，就拍了些照片张贴在她自己的部落格上，这些照片大受欢迎，因为网友们对那些猫的可爱照片疯狂不已，很快地，猴硐便有了「猫村」的别称。现在，来自各地的人们到这里看猫、玩猫、喂猫，当然还有拍下他们自己的猫咪照片。访客也会买点心，及很多与猫相关的纪念品，像是T恤、钱包，还有手机装饰品。所以难怪当地人喜欢他们的猫－因为牠们让这个村子再度恢复生气。

－by Dmitri Detwyler

Vocabulary

单词发音

retired [rɪˋtaɪrd] adj. 退休的

stray [stre] adj. 流浪的; 迷路的，走失的

protective [prəˋtɛktɪv] adj. 保护的

be fond of someone or something 喜欢, 爱好 liking someone or something

steadily [ˋstɛdəlɪ] adv. 稳定地

pass through 通过, 穿过

souvenir [ˋsuvə͵nɪr] n. 纪念品，纪念物

decoration [͵dɛkəˋreʃən] n. 装饰物，装饰品

bring something back to life  使复活，给…以活力  to restore vitality to something, such as a performance, a story, etc

More Information

单词发音

tabby [ˋtæbɪ] adj. 有斑纹的; 虎斑纹的

calico [ˋkælə͵ko] adj. 有斑点的

kitten [ˋkɪtn] n. 小猫

vet [vɛt] n. 兽医

help out 帮助, 帮忙 to assist or aid (someone), esp by sharing the burden

townspeople [ˋtaʊnz͵pip!] n. 镇民；城里人

outsider [ˋaʊtˋsaɪdɚ] n. 局外人; 外人

nonetheless [͵nʌnðəˋlɛs] adv.【正式】然而; 尽管如此;  虽然如此;  however

hit [hɪt] n. 成功而风行一时的事物

unofficially [͵ʌnəˋfɪʃəlɪ] adv. 非正式地

snack [snæk] n. 小吃，点心

purse [pɝs] n. 钱包；（女用）手提包

Reading Questions

1.  Why did the residents of Houtong write the town’s name with special characters?

(A)  The new ones were considered luckier by miners.

(B)  All the monkeys that used to live there disappeared.

(C)  The town’s main industry had become less important.

(D)  They wanted to be different from other towns.

2.  Why did coal mining become less popular in Taiwan?

(A)  Cheaper coal became available in other areas.

(B)  Coal was replaced by electricity for powering trains.

(C)  The Japanese were taking all the coal for themselves.

(D)  Nobody wanted to work in the mines anymore.

3.  How are cats in Houtong different from stray cats in other places?

(A)  They appear to be in worse physical condition.

(B)  They are less friendly than cats elsewhere.

(C)  They are sometimes taken to an animal doctor.

(D)  They come in many more unusual colors.

4.  How did the town first become famous for its cats?

(A)  Someone wrote an article about them for a travel magazine.

(B)  A visitor posted some pictures and wrote about them on the Internet.

(C)  The townspeople promoted their village with a series of products.

(D)  It was known as a good place to leave your cat if you couldn’t keep it.

侯硐小镇-猫 (Cats in Taiwan Houtong)

Answer