The Census That Counted a Mermaid · 把美人鱼道具算成动物的清单

Two days before a court-ordered transfer, veterinary（兽医审查的）/'vet(ə)rɪn(ə)rɪ; 'vet(ə)nrɪ/ auditor Sera Lin discovered that the roadside animal park's inventory could not identify every living animal. One line counted a painted mermaid（美人鱼道具）/'mɜːmeɪd/ as a specimen, another repeated a dead goldfish（金鱼）/'gəʊl(d)fɪʃ/, and several cages had no microchip（识别芯片）/'maɪkrə(ʊ)tʃɪp/ record. In light of（鉴于）/ɪn laɪt əv/ the errors, Sera had to rebuild the census rather than（而不是）/ˈrɑːðə ðæn/ move animals under uncertain names. She sealed the enclosure（围栏）/ɪn'kləʊʒə; en-/ in question（所涉及的）/ɪn ˈkwestʃən/ and assigned a keeper（饲养员）/'kiːpə/, caretaker（照料员）/'keəteɪkə/, and attendant（工作人员）/ə'tend(ə)nt/ to each survey team.

The paddock（兽栏）/'pædək/ team began with large mammals. A zebra（斑马）/'zebrə; 'ziːbrə/ listed as a maverick（未登记归属的动物）/'mæv(ə)rɪk/ had no ownership brand, but its pedigree（谱系）/'pedɪgriː/ matched a rescue file. A rhinoceros（犀牛）/raɪ'nɒs(ə)rəs/ had a cracked hoof（蹄）/huːf/; an old horseshoe（马蹄铁）/'hɔːsʃuː; -ʃʃ-/ beside it belonged to a domestic pony, not the rhino. The hippopotamus（河马）/ˌhɪpəˈpɒtəməs/ was amphibious（水陆两栖的）/æm'fɪbɪəs/ and needed water access, while photographs of its hindquarters（后躯）/,haind'kwɔ:təz/ confirmed its identity. None of these animals could share transport with a carnivore（食肉动物）/'kɑːnɪvɔː/, so separate crates were assigned.

Primate records required family checks. A gorilla（大猩猩）/gə'rɪlə/, a chimpanzee（黑猩猩）/tʃɪmpæn'ziː/, and a gibbon（长臂猿）/'gɪb(ə)n/ occupied adjoining spaces; the gibbon was a folivore（食叶动物）/'fəulivɔ:/ with a specialised feeder（饲喂器）/'fiːdə/. Notes documented courtship（求偶）/'kɔːtʃɪp/ and mating（交配）/'meɪtɪŋ/, followed by pregnancy（妊娠）/'pregnənsɪ/ and a newborn（幼崽）/njuː'bɔːn; 'njuːbɔːn/. The infant still needed to suckle（哺乳）/'sʌk(ə)l/ and was not ready to wean（断奶）/wiːn/. Sera told the raiser（饲养人员）/'reizə/, “We can move the family together, but we cannot separate the newborn from its mother for convenience.” The husbandry（饲养方案）/'hʌzbəndrɪ/ plan was revised accordingly.

Other teams verified smaller collections. Bird records covered a canary（金丝雀）/kə'neərɪ/, cuckoo（布谷鸟）/'kʊkuː/, falcon（猎鹰）/'fɔː(l)k(ə)n; 'fɒlk(ə)n/, robin（知更鸟）/'rɒbɪn/, ostrich（鸵鸟）/'ɒstrɪtʃ/, pelican（鹈鹕）/'pelɪk(ə)n/, and gull（海鸥）/gʌl/; a damaged plume（羽毛）/pluːm/ identified the correct pelican. The reptile room held a cobra（眼镜蛇）/'kəʊbrə; 'kɒbrə/ and a rattlesnake（响尾蛇）/'ræt(ə)lsneɪk/. In the aquatic unit, each goldfish had a visible fin（鳍）/fɪn/ and healthy gill（鳃）/gɪl/ movement, while a rescued dolphin pod（群）/pɒd/ used the deeper pool. A honeycomb（蜂巢）/'hʌnɪkəʊm/ housed one bee swarm（蜂群）/swɔːm/, and a millipede（千足虫）/'mɪlɪpiːd/ display remained sealed. The team recorded every vertebrate（脊椎动物）/'vɜːtɪbrət/ as an individual rather than as part of a mixed display. These distinctions prevented one transport label from covering unrelated species.

The inspection also exposed neglect. A rabbit hutch（兔笼）/hʌtʃ/ and poultry coop（禽舍）/kuːp/ were clean, but a tom（雄猫）/tɒm/ in the kennel（动物舍）/'ken(ə)l/ needed treatment. Spoiled feed contained a maggot（蛆）/'mægət/, and staff had allowed several animals to forage（觅食）/'fɒrɪdʒ/ beside waste. A snare（套索）/sneə/ and harpoon（鱼叉）/hɑː'puːn/ in storage linked earlier captures to illegal trade, while a receipt from a furrier（毛皮商）/'fʌrɪə/ showed why one animal had entered captivity（圈养）/kæp'tɪvɪtɪ/. At this stage（现阶段）/æt ðɪs steɪdʒ/, the veterinary team preserved the equipment as evidence because it documented illegal capture. It also chose to seclude（隔离）/sɪ'kluːd/ the sick animal for treatment.

On that basis（据此）/ɒn ðæt ˈbeɪsɪs/, the court accepted the corrected list in accordance with（按照）/ɪn əˈkɔːdəns wɪð/ verified identities. The evidence gave the court no reason to（没有理由做）/nəʊ ˈriːzən tuː/ demand a trade-off. Officials did not have to choose between（在两者之间选择）/tʃuːz bɪˈtwiːn/ rapid transfer and reliable records: every crate carried both. The park no longer（不再）/nəʊ ˈlɒŋɡə/ classified animals under the name of（以……的名义）/ˈʌndə ðə neɪm əv/ convenient categories. Scanners matched each microchip at departure and arrival, and every animal reached the assigned sanctuary. The observable result was exact: the final count matched the living population, so no animal was lost, duplicated, or separated from dependent young.

译参考译文

法院下令转运前两天，兽医审计员塞拉·林发现，这家路边动物园的清单无法识别每一只活体动物。一行把彩绘的美人鱼道具算作标本，另一行重复列入一条已经死亡的金鱼，还有几个笼舍没有识别芯片记录。鉴于这些错误，塞拉必须重建清点，而不是用不确定的名称转运动物。她封闭了所涉及的围栏，并为每个调查组分别安排一名饲养员、照料员和工作人员。

负责兽栏的小组从大型哺乳动物开始。一匹被列为无主动物的斑马没有所有权烙印，但它的谱系与一份救助档案相符。一头犀牛的蹄开裂了；它旁边的一只旧马蹄铁属于一匹家养矮马，而不是犀牛。河马是水陆两栖动物，需要能够下水，而其后躯照片证实了它的身份。这些动物都不能与食肉动物共用运输空间，因此小组为它们分配了不同的运输箱。

灵长类记录需要核对家庭关系。一只大猩猩、一只黑猩猩和一只长臂猿住在相邻空间；长臂猿是食叶动物，配有专用饲喂器。记录记载了求偶和交配，随后是妊娠和幼崽出生。幼崽仍需哺乳，还不能断奶。塞拉对饲养人员说：“我们可以把这一家一起转走，但不能为了方便而把幼崽与母亲分开。”饲养方案随后作了相应修改。

其他小组核验规模较小的动物群。鸟类记录包括金丝雀、布谷鸟、猎鹰、知更鸟、鸵鸟、鹈鹕和海鸥；一根受损羽毛帮助小组找到了对应的鹈鹕。爬行动物房里有一条眼镜蛇和一条响尾蛇。在水生动物区，每条金鱼都有清晰可见的鳍，鳃部活动也正常；一群获救的海豚则使用较深的水池。一个蜂巢容纳着一群蜜蜂，千足虫展箱仍保持密封。小组把每只脊椎动物作为个体记录，而不是混在一个展示类别里。这些区别避免了用同一张运输标签涵盖毫不相关的物种。

检查还暴露了疏于照料的问题。兔笼和禽舍很干净，但动物舍里的一只雄猫需要治疗。变质饲料里有一条蛆，工作人员还曾让几只动物在垃圾旁觅食。仓库中的套索和鱼叉把早先的捕捉行为与非法交易联系起来；一张毛皮商的收据则说明了一只动物为何会被圈养。现阶段，兽医小组把这些器具作为证据保存，因为它们记录了非法捕捉。小组还决定隔离患病动物接受治疗。

据此，法院按照经过核实的身份接受了修正后的清单。证据让法院没有理由要求在两者间作出取舍。工作人员不必在快速转运与可靠记录之间二选一：每只运输箱同时具备两者。动物园不再以方便分类的名义归类动物。扫描设备在出发和抵达时分别核对每枚识别芯片，每只动物都抵达指定的庇护机构。可观察到的结果十分明确：最终数量与活体动物总数一致，因此没有动物丢失、重复计算，也没有动物与仍依赖照料的幼崽分离。

◆核心句型

have to表达必要性

结构状语 + 主语 + have to + 动作一 + rather than + 动作二

In light of the errors,依据状语Sera主语had to rebuild必要性谓语the census宾语rather than move animals under uncertain names.对照动作

while连接对照分句

结构分句一, + while + 分句二

The hippopotamus分句一主语was amphibious and needed water access,分句一谓语while对照连词photographs of its hindquarters分句二主语confirmed its identity.分句二谓语

情态动词与but连接能力边界

结构主语 + can + 动作一 + but + 主语 + cannot + 动作二

We分句一主语can move分句一情态谓语the family together,分句一宾语与补语but转折连词we cannot separate the newborn from its mother for convenience.分句二

because引导原因分句

结构主句 + because + 原因分句

At this stage,阶段状语the veterinary team主句主语preserved the equipment as evidence主句谓语because原因连词it documented illegal capture.原因分句

so连接原因与结果分句

结构原因分句, + so + 结果分句

The observable result was exact:结果引导语the final count原因分句主语matched the living population,原因分句谓语so结果连词no animal was lost, duplicated, or separated from dependent young.结果分句

填单词填空

Two days before a court-ordered transfer, （兽医审查的） auditor Sera Lin discovered that the roadside animal park's inventory could not identify every living animal.

One line counted a painted （美人鱼道具） as a specimen, another repeated a dead goldfish, and several cages had no microchip record.

A zebra listed as a （未登记归属的动物） had no ownership brand, but its pedigree matched a rescue file.

A rhinoceros had a cracked （蹄）; an old horseshoe beside it belonged to a domestic pony, not the rhino.

A gorilla, a chimpanzee, and a gibbon occupied adjoining spaces; the gibbon was a （食叶动物） with a specialised feeder.

A honeycomb housed one bee （蜂群）, and a millipede display remained sealed.

A rabbit hutch and poultry coop were clean, but a （雄猫） in the kennel needed treatment.

Scanners matched each （识别芯片） at departure and arrival, and every animal reached the assigned sanctuary.

查看参考答案

1. veterinary2. mermaid3. maverick4. hoof5. folivore6. swarm7. tom8. microchip

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