《中英對照讀新聞》Campaign saves Indian elephant 愛好動物人士的奔走救了印度象

◎羅彥傑

After a four-month campaign by Indian animal lovers, the government relented and said it would not gift a baby elephant to Armenia, it was reported.

在印度愛好動物人士奔走四個月後，政府起了憐憫之心，表示不會將一隻小象當作禮物送給亞美尼亞，報導指出。

The federal government had promised to send a six-year-old elephant, named Veda, to join the only male elephant in Armenia's zoo.

聯邦政府曾承諾要將一隻六歲大、名叫葳達的象，送給亞美尼亞動物園，和那裡唯一的一隻公象作伴。

Veda was born in the Bannerghatta national park outside the southern Indian city of Bangalore, and locals complained she would not survive the freezing temperatures of Armenia.

葳達出生在印度南部城市邦加羅爾外的班納加答國家公園，當地人士抱怨說，她沒有辦法在亞美尼亞寒冷的氣溫下存活。

Animal lovers said it would be cruel to separate baby Veda from her grandmother, mother, brother and sister, as elephants are very social animals.

愛好動物人士說，把小葳達和祖母、母親、兄弟和姊妹分開是殘忍的事，因為大象是社會群體性非常高的動物。

They wrote letters to Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and held protests outside the park that is Veda's home. Their campaign was supported by the Britain-based Born Free Foundation.

他們寫信給印度總統卡拉姆與總理辛赫，並在葳達棲身的公園外抗議。他們的努力還受到總部設在英國的「生而自由基金會」的支持。

新聞辭典

relent：動詞，指起憐憫之心、覺得可憐。例句：He relented at the sight of her grief.（他見到她悲傷的樣子，起了憐憫之心。）

freezing：形容詞，指極冷的、冰凍的。例句：Freezing temperatures in Peru have killed more than 60 children, according to reports.（根據報導，祕魯的極低溫已奪走六十多名兒童的性命。）

social：形容詞，指社會的、過群居生活的。例句：Man is a social creature.（人是具有社會性的動物。）

foundation：名詞，指地基、基礎，或基金會、機構。例句：The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank that publishes research on domestic, economic, foreign and defense policy.（傳統基金會是一個保守派的智庫，出版有關內政、財經、外交與國防政策的研究。）