2011年7月19日 星期二

Animal Mega Moves 動物大搬家

 When people move from one home to another, all they have to do is box up their possessions1 and load them into the moving van. If they have pets, their small-to-moderate-sized animals are gently put in carriers and manually transported. The teams of specialists on National Geographic Channel's "Animal Mega Moves" wish they had it so easy. Instead, they are assigned the task of moving massive and deadly creatures like elephants, rhinos2, and sharks.
當人們搬家到另一個地方時,他們所要做的就是把所有東西裝箱,然後堆到搬家卡車上。如果他們有寵物,他們就會把那些中小型的動物小心地放進寵物旅行箱中,然後親手搬運。國家地理頻道《動物大搬家》系列節目中的各組專家希望事情能這麼簡單就好。但是他們被委派的任務卻是搬運危險致命的大型生物,好比大象、犀牛和鯊魚等。
  These teams of expert animal movers, along with vets, have to capture, cage3, and transport very precious cargo4 by land, air, and sea around the world. They must ensure that the creatures not only arrive on time but also in good condition.
這一組組的動物搬運專家和獸醫們必須將動物捕捉起來並關進牢籠,再透過陸運、空運及海運的方式將這些極其珍貴的貨物運送到全球各地。他們也務必確保這些生物要能健健康康地準時抵達。
  In the "Sharks" episode, NGC follows along as a pair of silvertip sharks are moved from an aquarium5 in Queensland, Australia. Their final destination is a special breeding6 center over 10,000 kilometers away in Dubai. For the 30-hour journey, the experts need to construct special water tanks to keep these fierce predators7 alive. It is a race against time to deliver them before the oxygen runs out.
在《鯊魚》這集節目中,國家地理頻道尾隨一對白邊真鯊從澳洲昆士蘭的某座水族館裡搬運出來。他們的目的地是一萬多公里以外、位於杜拜的一間專門繁殖中心。為了這趟長達三十小時的旅程,專家必須打造特製的水槽以維持這對凶猛鯊魚的生命。這是一場與時間賽跑的競賽,因為他們得在水槽內的氧氣耗盡前將鯊魚送達目的地。





@Building Your Vocabulary
1. moderate a. 中等的;適度的
Drinking moderate amounts of red wine is said to be good for one's health.
飲用適量的紅酒據說對健康有益。
2. manually adv. 靠人工地;手動地
Race car drivers need to shift gears manually.
賽車選手在駕車時需要手動換檔。
3. assign vt. 指派,分配
Mr. Brown assigned the story to his best reporter.
布朗先生把這則故事指派給他手下最好的記者來負責。
4. massive a. 大而重的,巨大的
A massive sign fell off the building and crushed several cars.
一塊巨大的招牌從那棟建築物上掉下來並壓垮了幾輛車子。
5. precious a. 珍貴的,寶貴的
Time is precious, so we cannot afford to waste it.
時間很寶貴,所以我們承擔不起浪費光陰的代價。
6. construct vt. 建造,構築
The Empire State Building was constructed in just over a year.
帝國大廈僅花一年的時間就竣工了。
7. fierce a. 兇猛的;激烈的
The challenger put up a fierce battle at the end of the first round.
那名挑戰者在第一回合的尾聲做出了頑強的抵抗。





@Phrase For Learning
《Phrases for Learning》
* box up.../box...up  把……裝入箱∕盒內
I boxed up all my old toys and put them in the attic.
我把舊玩具全都裝進箱子,然後放到閣樓去。





@Extra Words
1. possession n. 所有物,財產
2. rhino n. 犀牛
3. cage vt. 把……關進籠中
4. cargo n.(用交通工具裝載的一批)貨物
5. aquarium n. 水族館
6. breeding n. 養育,培育(本文中作形容詞用)
7. predator n. 掠食者





@Sentence Pattern
《Sentence Pattern》
...all they have to do is box up...
(……他們所要做的就是把……裝箱……)
all/what + 人 + has to/can/should do is (to) + 原形動詞  某人所必須∕能∕應該做的就是……
注意:
此句構中,由於修飾主詞的形容詞子句中含有動詞 do,故 be 動詞 is 之後應接不定詞片語(to + 原形動詞)作主詞補語,但此不定詞片語中的 to 通常會予以省略,直接接原形動詞。類似用法尚有下列:
1. the best thing (that) + 人 + can do is (to) + 原形動詞  某人最好(要做的就是)……
  The best thing (that) you can do right now is (to) give her some space.
(你最好現在就留一些空間給她。)

2. the first thing (that) + 人 + has to/can/should do is (to) + 原形動詞
 某人必須∕能∕應該做的第一件事就是……
 The first thing (that) Nick should do is (to) make a reservation.
(尼克應該做的第一件事就是要先訂位。)

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