Zoo
Animals Roam Flooded Georgian Capital
VOA News
Last updated on: June 14, 2015 8:56 AM (source)
Zoo Animals Roam
Flooded Georgian Capital
水淹喬治亞首都，動物脫園亂
跑
VOA News
June 14, 2015 8:56 AM
TBILISI, GEORGIA—
Residents of the flood-ravaged
Georgian capital city of Tbilisi were warned Sunday to stay indoors, as
lions, bears, a hippopotamus and other escaped zoo animals roamed the
streets of the devastated capital.
喬治亞首都提比里斯(Tbilisi)飽受水災肆虐(flood-
ravaged)，當地居民於周六時被告知盡量待在室內，因為這個飽受吹殘的(devastated)首
都城市還有獅子、熊、河馬跟其它動物園逃脫的動物在街道上遊蕩(roam)。
Tbilisi Mayor David Narmania, speaking on national television, said the
flood waters had killed at least 12 people, with 24 others missing.
提比里斯市長在全國轉播電視上說，水災已奪走至少12條人
命，另有24人失蹤。
Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Narmania as saying "not all
animals that fled the zoo have been caught yet. Therefore, I would ask
the population to avoid moving around the city."
俄羅斯Interfax新聞社(news agency)引
述市長的說法：「逃離動物園的動物還未全數抓到，我想請市區的居民(population)避
免在市區內移動。」
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili toured the affected area,
saying "the losses we have suffered are very hard to tolerate. The
situation is rather difficult," he said. "We haven't seen
anything like this in Tbilisi before."
喬治亞總統格奧爾基·馬爾格韋拉什維利(Giorgi
Margvelashvili)巡視受影響的區域時表示，「我們遭受的是難以承受的損失。現在的情形相當棘手，提比里斯沒遇過這樣的情況。」
He then declared Monday a day of national mourning.
他並也宣布週一為全國哀悼日(a day of
national mourning)。
Animal
deaths widespread
Zoo director Zurab Gurielidze, speaking on Georgian television Sunday,
said "all our lions and tigers are dead. We also failed to save our
monkeys. They all drowned, unable to escape their cages."
動物園園長週日於電視上表示，「獅子跟老虎都死了，我們也沒
能救出猴子。他們逃不出籠子都溺死了。」
Another official said an unknown number of jackals, jaguars and wolves
were among the escapees
from a large section of the zoo described by officials on Sunday as
"non-existent." Witnesses said some animals were killed when they
could not be captured.
另一名官員則表示，數量眾多的豺狼(jackal)、豹(jaguar)、狼都
是仍在外逃的動物。官員描述這些動物跑出來的地方是動物園裡一大段沒有明確資料、彷彿不存在的(non-
existent)區域。目擊者指出看到許多捉不回來的逃跑動物被射殺。
(編按：non-existent是「不存在」的意思，在新
聞中加引號，因為這一區在動物園的管理中「彷彿不存在」，像是「黑區」，逃跑了多少動物也無法確認之意。)
Photos later in the day showed the displaced
hippo shoulder-deep in a flooded city street, in front of a store
moments before authorities subdued it with a tranquilizer gun and
returned it to its enclosure.
當日稍晚所傳出照片中有一隻流離失所(displaced)的
河馬杵在店門前，城市街道上的水觸及到肩膀的深度。相關人員幾分鐘之後使用鎮定劑(tranquilizer)將
河馬制伏(subdue)，
把它送回圈養場所
(enclosure)。
Local reports also showed a bear clinging to
an air conditioning unit on a structure near the rushing flood
waters. Other images showed the corpses of
animals strewn
among wrecked cars and damaged buildings.
當地報導中也看到有熊依附在(cling to)建
築物旁的冷氣機組，一旁有滾滾洪水。還有許多動物屍體(corpse)散落在
(strewn)壞損車輛與建築物中的影像。
A central
city devastated
The mayor's office said dozens of families lost homes, with thousands
more in the city of 1.1 million residents left without water or
electricity.
市長辦公室發佈消息說，有數十個家庭受損，有上萬人無水電可
用。城市的人口數有一百一十萬。
Video showed partially submerged cars, washed out roadways and flood
waters from the Vere river coursing through the center of the hilly
city. The river burst its banks overnight into Sunday, after a
full day of torrential
downpours.
影片顯示出部分沉入水中(submerged)的
車輛，被大水沖刷的道路，還有洪水從流經這個丘陵地城市的河道滿溢出來。傾盆大雨(torrential
downpours)下了整日，河水在入夜後週日時潰堤(burst its banks)。
The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, described
the human and animal losses as "a terrible tragedy." In his
Sunday sermon,
he blamed the floods on Cold War-era communists, who he said built the
zoo with money gained from destroying churches and monasteries
and then melting down their bells.
喬治亞東正教教會(Orthodox
Church)的主教伊利亞二世(Patriarch Ilia II)稱這場人命與動物性命的損失為「可怕的悲劇」。他於週日布道(sermon)時指
責冷戰時期的共產黨是這場水災的禍首，因為他們摧毀了教堂與修道院(monastery)，
把教堂的鐘熔掉，換成錢來蓋這個動物園。
As a consequence, he said the zoo can't flourish at
its present location and must find a new home.
因此，他認為動物園在現址不會興旺(flourish)，
必須另覓新家。
Language Notes
ravage
(v) 蹂躪；破壞
roam
(v) 漫遊；徘徊
mourning
(n) 悲傷；哀悼 *mourn for/over (v phr)為 . . . 哀悼，哀傷
escapee
(v) 逃跑者 *本字是動詞加上字尾 “-ee” 變成名詞，動詞是escape「逃跑、逃離」
displace
(v) （從原來的地方）移開；迫使（人）離開
subdue
(v) 克服；抑制
cling
to (v phr) 依附在 . . . ; 緊握住 . . .
corpse
(n) 屍體
strew
(v) 散佈，散落 *動詞三態是strew, strewed, strewn(strewed)
submerge
(v) 沈於水中；浸於水中
torrential
downpour (n phrase) 傾盆大雨 *torrential (a) 雨勢兇猛的；downpour (n) 豪雨
sermon
(n) 布道，講道
monastery
(n) 修道院
flourish
(v) 繁盛；昌旺
Check your vocabulary!
Fill
in the blanks with a word or phrase from the list above. Make necessary
changes. After you finish, select the text above to reveal the hidden
answers.
1. The building of a new dam will displace
thousands of people who live in this area.
2. The escapees were recaptured
after three days on the run.
3. He subdued a desire to laugh.
4. This type of plant flourishes in
hot countries.
5. Shops will be closed today as a sign of mourning
for the king.
6. After the pubs close, gangs of youths roam
the city streets.
編譯：簡嘉呈
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