讲解人 · John
原文
For people, this can mean flooding, sinkholes appearing in roads and trees being felled.
A single incident can clock up 70, 000 Swiss francs in damages.
To cope, the beaver-rich canton of Zurich came up with the hotline.
The local Beaver Advisory Centre is staffed by ecologists who give advice, assess damages and evaluate potential compensation.
Switzerland is experiencing a beaver boom.
In 2008, there were 1, 600 beavers, and in 2022, there were 4, 900, with numbers likely to have increased since.
Unlike in most European countries, no beaver has been legally killed in Switzerland since they were reintroduced in 1956.
The Swiss approach is not hands-off in its rewilding: its success lies in extensive state management and support.
The effectiveness of culling is questioned in Switzerland.
“It’s efficient to shoot a beaver — but only until the next beaver comes along, “ says first responder Caroline Nienhuis, a biologist from Fornat, the consultancy that runs the hotline.
The costs of management are more than compensated for by the wildlife and ecosystem benefits beavers bring.
Despite causing flooding in some areas, they reduce it in others as their dams slow the flow of water through the landscape, protecting communities downstream from flash floods.
Beavers are now doing free river restoration work on 2, 000km of river in Switzerland they have already colonised.
带着问题听讲解
- 如何理解 gnaw 这个词？
- 根据文章，河狸的活动会带来哪些问题？
- 根据文章，瑞士是如何应对河狸带来的问题的？
讲解
重点词汇
gnaw
/nɑː/
v. 咬；啃
- 英文释义：to keep biting sth or chewing it hard, so that it gradually disappears搭配短语：gnaw at sth.
- 例句：The mice have been gnawing at the wooden door frame.
搭配短语：gnaw away- 例句：The beavers gnawed away at the tree trunk until it snapped.
搭配短语：gnaw at sb./sth.（使烦恼，折磨）- 例句：The problem had been gnawing at her for months.
sinkhole
/ˈsɪŋk.hoʊl/
n. 落水洞，渗坑
- 相关词汇：sink（下降）相关词汇：hole（洞）相关词汇：pothole（路面凹坑）例句：Heavy rain caused a sinkhole on the main road, blocking traffic for hours.
beaver
/ˈbiː.vɚ/
n. 河狸
- 搭配短语：busy as a beaver
- 例句：My friend is busy as a beaver preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam.
reassure
/ˌriː.əˈʃʊr/
v. 使……安心
- 相关词汇：assure（使确信；向……保证）
- 例句：Let me assure you that I will try to help you.
词根词缀：re-英文释义：set sb's mind at rest搭配短语：reassure sb. about sth.- 例句：The doctor reassured the patient about the safety of the operation.
相关词汇：reassuring- 搭配短语：a reassuring smile
- 搭配短语：reassuring news
unleash
/ʌnˈliːʃ/
v. 发泄；突然释放
- 相关词汇：leash（n.（牵狗的）绳子，皮带）
- 搭配短语：put a leash on a dog
相关词汇：leash（v. 用皮带系住，拴住）词根词缀：un-（解开，释放）近义词：trigger例句：The sudden storm unleashed widespread flooding in the coastal city.
mayhem
/ˈmeɪ.hem/
n. 混乱；骚乱
- 近义词：chaos搭配短语：a state of mayhem例句：The crowd's rush to exit caused mayhem at the concert venue.
lodge
/lɑːdʒ/
n.（动物的）巢穴，兽穴；小屋；侧屋
- 搭配短语：a hunting lodge（小屋）搭配短语：build a lodge（（动物的）巢穴，兽穴）例句：The beavers' lodges are usually built with branches and mud.（（动物的）巢穴，兽穴）
dam
/dæm/
n. 水坝，堤坝
- 例句：The Three Gorges Dam is one of the largest dams in the world.搭配短语：build up dams词性拓展：dam（v. 筑坝拦截）
- 搭配短语：dam a river
fell
/fel/
v. 砍伐（树木）；击倒（对手）
- 例句：The storm felled several old trees in the park.（砍伐（树木））例句：He felled his opponent with a single blow.（击倒（对手））
clock up
累计，记录（数量）
- 相关词汇：clock（n. 时钟）相关词汇：clock（v. 达到（某时间或某速度）)英文释义：to reach or achieve a particular number or amount近义词：accumulate近义词组：add up to例句：The delivery driver has clocked up over 10,000 kilometers this month.
canton
/ˈkæn.tɑːn/
n.（瑞士等国的）州
- 相关词汇：province（省）相关词汇：state（州）相关词汇：county（郡）
staff
/stæf/
v. 由……配备人员，由……任职
- 搭配短语：be staffed by sb.
- 例句：The hotel is staffed by trained professionals.
hands-off
/ˌhændzˈɑːf/
adj. 不干预的，放任的
- 搭配短语：a hands-off approach
- 例句：The teacher takes a hands-off approach to students' group work, letting them make their own decisions.
反义词：hands-on（亲力亲为的，实操的）- 例句：The manager is very hands-on and often participates in the team's work.
rewilding
/ˌriːˈwaɪl.dɪŋ/
n. 复野，再野化
- 相关词汇：wild（adj. 野生的）词根词缀：re-（重新）例句：The rewilding project has helped many endangered animals return to their natural habitats.
culling
/ˈkʌlɪŋ/
n. 部分捕杀，选择性捕杀
- 相关词汇：cull（v. 部分捕杀，选择性捕杀）
- 英文释义：to kill a particular number of animals of a group in order to prevent the group from getting too large
- 例句：Some countries cull deer to control their population and prevent the spread of disease.
consultancy
/kənˈsʌl.tən.si/
n. 咨询公司
- 相关词汇：consult（v. 咨询）相关词汇：consultant（n. 顾问）搭配短语：a management consultancy例句：My brother works in a financial consultancy, providing advice on investment to clients.
landscape
/ˈlænd.skeɪp/
n. 地形；地貌
- 搭配短语：natural landscape搭配短语：rural landscape
downstream
/ˌdaʊnˈstriːm/
adj. 在下游的
- 相关词汇：down（向下）相关词汇：stream（溪流）搭配短语：downstream areas反义词：upstream
colonise
/ˈkɑː.lə.naɪz/
v.（在某一地区）聚居，大批生长；将……建为殖民地
- 相关词汇：colony（n. 殖民地）例句：The area was colonised by the Vikings.（将……建为殖民地）例句：The slopes are colonised by flowering plants.（大批生长）
拓展阅读
