Mon, Mar 23, 2009 page15

• Dog sniffs for tiger droppings in Cambodia 柬埔寨靠狗嗅糞尋虎蹤

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  A dog trained in Russia to sniff for tiger droppings has begun searching for the big cats in an area in Cambodia, conservationists said.

  The German wirehaired pointer named Maggie recently began to search for signs of tigers in Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area.

  “Normally, a dog can smell very far. So we are using the dog to find the tigers in the area,” said Men Soriyun, a project manager for the area.

  

  Conservationists are uncertain how many of the big cats remain in Cambodia’s jungles.

  A second dog will be brought from Russia to the protected area later this year, according to conservationists at the Wildlife Conservation Society.

  Tigers originally ranged over much of Asia, but are now scattered across parts of south and southeast Asia, with a few populations in the Russian far east and China, according to the group.

  There are around 5,000 tigers left in Asia, which is a far cry from the 500,000 that roamed the area 200 years ago. Hunting and habitat destruction were the main causes of the decline.

  In 2006 the group and conservation outfit Panthera, also based in New York, launched a 10-million-dollar initiative called “Tigers Forever.”

  The use of sniffer dogs is part of the program, which aims to increase tiger populations by 50 percent in key sites across Asia over ten years.

  (STAFF WRITER WITH AFP)

  自然保育學者表示，一隻在俄國受訓、專門嗅聞老虎糞便的獵犬，已開始在柬埔寨境內某地區搜尋老虎行蹤。

  這隻名叫「梅姬」的德國剛毛指示犬日前開始在聖瑪生物多樣性自然保育區中，尋找老虎出沒的線索。

  該區計劃負責人曼•梭里雲說：「狗通常能聞到很遠距離外的氣味。所以我們打算利用這隻狗找出藏身此區的老虎。」

  自然保育人員無法確定柬埔寨叢林中還有多少老虎。

  據野生動物保育協會的自然保育學者表示，第二隻獵犬今年稍晚將從俄國送往該保育區。

  該協會表示，老虎原本遍佈亞洲各地，但目前僅零星分佈於南亞和東南亞的部份地區，在俄國遠東地區和中國境內也有少數老虎出沒。

  亞洲目前約有五千隻老虎，數量和兩百年前在此漫遊的五十萬隻不可同日而語。狩獵和棲息地被破壞是牠們數量銳減的主因。

  二ＯＯ六年時，該協會和總部同樣設在紐約的自然保育團體「豹屬」，發起了一項千萬美元的「老虎永存」活動。

  利用受過嗅聞訓練的狗只是這項計畫的一部分，該計畫旨在未來十年內讓亞洲重點地區的老虎數量增加五成。（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）

  For your information

  TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

  1. sniff v.i./v.t. 嗅 (xiu4)，聞 (wen2) 例: Sarah stepped outside and sniffed the morning air. (莎拉走到戶外，呼吸早晨的空氣。) 2. area n. 地區 (di4 qü1)，領域 (ling3 yü4) 例:Roger has been working in this area since last year. (羅傑去年開始從事這個領域的工作。) 3. scatter v.i./v.t. 分散 (fen1 san4)，零星出現 (ling2 xing1 chu1 xian4) 例:The bride scattered confetti on the church steps. (新娘把五彩碎紙撒在教堂的台階上。) 4. habitat n. 棲息地 (qi1 xi2 di4) 例:Pandas have suffered from the destruction of their habitat. (貓熊飽受棲息地被破壞之苦。)

  For your information

  SAY WHAT? 說說看

  a far cry 差得遠了 Something that is a far cry from another thing is very different from it. In the article the idiom is used to show how much the tiger population has decreased. Example: “Nigel sold $5,000 worth of software this month, which is a far cry from the $8,000 he sold this time last year.” 說某事和另一件事是「a far cry」，意思就是兩者非常不同。這篇文章中用這個慣用語來形容老虎數量的驟減。 例如：「奈吉爾這個月賣了五千元的軟體，和他去年同期賣掉的八千元差得遠了」。

  For your information

  OUT LOUD 對話練習

  Wills: I’ve got some good news for you, Mavis! We’re getting a new IT system for the office. Mavis: Oh. That sounds...great. Wills: You’ll love it. You’ll be able to edit images, audio and video with state-of-the-art software. It will make the office much more efficient. Mavis: Do we really need that? There was nothing wrong with the old system. Wills: Don’t worry about it, Mavis. You’ll get used to it. Mavis: I’m not so sure. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks you know. 威爾斯：我要告訴妳一個好消息，瑪薇絲！我們公司要裝一套新的資訊系統了。 瑪薇絲：噢，那聽起來…很棒。 威爾斯：妳一定會愛上它的。妳可以用這套最先進的軟體編輯圖片和影音。這會提昇不少辦公效率。 瑪薇絲：我們真的需要它嗎？我們的舊系統用得好好的啊。 威爾斯：別擔心，瑪薇絲。妳會習慣的。 瑪薇絲：我可不這麼肯定。你也知道老狗學不會新把戲。 you can’t teach an old dog new tricks　 老狗學不會新把戲 This idiom is used to explain how difficult is for old people to learn new skills and habits. 這個慣用語用來形容老人很難學會新技術或養成新習慣。
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