外刊精读 | CGTN：一路向北的大象为何引起全世界的关注

学习英语过程中，阅读外刊是必不可少的步骤。许多朋友可能对阅读外刊存在心理障碍，认为其“太难”，一是难在“生词”过多；二是难在文化背景不够；三是难在越来越习惯碎片化阅读的我们无法耐心去读一篇英语长篇文章。对此，我们开设“外刊精读”小栏目，带着大家一起进行精读分享。快来看看国外又有什么动态吧~

 导 读 

本期选自2021年6月10日CGTN：Why the world has fallen in love with China's wandering elephants（为什么全世界都爱上了中国迁徙的大象）。

云南15头大象从西双版纳开始迁徙，一路向北，横跨多县市已进入昆明，这群大象的向北之旅引发了全世界的关注，无数人每天都关注着大象们走到哪了。为了更好地保护象群和民众的生活，当地政府集结了大量的人力物力资源来监测其活动并进行食物投喂，进一步引导象群路线。但关于象群迁徙的原因目前尚不清楚。

一起来精读一段吧~

More than 400 people and 14 drones were deployed by local Chinese authorities on Monday to try to lead a herd of 15 wandering elephants away from residential areas in the southwest of thecountry.

周一，中国地方当局部署了400多人和14架无人机，试图将一群15头游荡的大象带离该国西南部的居民区。

Authorities have been tracking the elephants ever since they left their nature reserve in 2020. They have caused more than $1 million worth of damage but their journey has gone viral and the world has been watching with interest.

自从这些大象在2020年离开其自然保护区后，当局一直在追踪它们。虽然它们已经造成了价值超过100万美元的损失，但它们的旅程已经引发全世界的兴趣和观看。

There are 15 elephants in the herd, including three calves, who had been living in the Mengyangzi Nature Reserve in Xishuangbanna until March 2020. Authorities were alerted when they reached the city of Pu'er last December.

象群中有15头大象，包括3头小象，它们在2020年3月之前一直生活在西双版纳的勐养子自然保护区。去年12月，当它们到达普洱市时，当地政府保持了警醒。

Since March 2020 the herd has covered 500 km, reaching the outskirts of Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province.

自2020年3月以来，象群走了500公里，到达了云南省省会城市昆明的郊区。

A decline in edible plants in forest habitats has put pressure on the animals to find food, according to China's Xinhua news agency, which also reported numbers of the Asian elephants have increased in Yunnan Province in recent decades.

据中国新华社报道，森林栖息地可食用植物的减少给这些大象寻找食物增加了压力，新华社还报道近几十年来亚洲象在云南省的数量有所增加。

The Asian elephant is an endangered species, with estimates that there around 300 in the south of Yunnan. Experts say that while migration is not uncommon, this is the furthest any of the wild elephants have traveled from their natural habitat.

亚洲象是一种濒危物种，据估计，云南省南部约有300头。专家说，虽然迁徙并不罕见，但这是所有野象离开其自然栖息地最远的一次。

The original group was made up of 17 elephants but reports claim two turned back after gaining access to alcohol in a villager's house and becoming inebriated.

最初的队伍由17头大象组成，但有报道称，有两头大象在偷吃了村民的酒糟之后变得醉醺醺，随后折返。

The current group has surprised locals and social media followers as they have found inventive ways to feed themselves, most notably when they were filmed entering a villager's backyard to turn on the water tap for a drink.

目前的这群大象让当地人和社交媒体关注者感到惊讶，因为它们找到了别出心裁的方法来养活自己，最引人注目的是它们被拍到进入一个村民的后院，打开水龙头喝水。

 重点词汇