For my presentation today I want to tell you about how groups of elephants have been moved and settled in new reserves. This is known as translocation and has been carried out in Malawi in Africa in recent years. The reason this is being done is because of overpopulation of elephants in some areas.
Overpopulation is a good problem to have and not one we tend to hear about very often. In Malawi’s Majete National Park the elephant population had been wiped out by poachers, who killed the elephants for their ivory. But in 2003, the park was restocked and effective law enforcement was introduced. Since then, not a single elephant has been poached. In this safe environment, the elephant population boomed. Breeding went so well that there were more elephants than the park could support.
This led to a number of problems. Firstly, there was more competition for food, which meant that some elephants were suffering from hunger. As there was a limit to the amount of food in the national park, some elephants began looking further afield. Elephants were routinely knocking down fences around the park,【Q31】 which then had to be repaired at a significant cost.
To solve this problem, the decision was made to move dozens of elephants from Majete National Park to Nkhotakota Wildlife Park, where there were no elephants. But, obviously, attempting to move significant numbers of elephants to a new home 300 kilometres away is quite a challenge.
So how did this translocation process work in practice?
Elephants were moved in groups of between eight and twenty, all belonging to one family.【Q32】 Because relationships are very important to elephants, they all had to be moved at the same time. A team of vets and park rangers flew over the park in helicopters and targeted a group, which were rounded up and directed to a designated open plain.【Q33】
The vets then used darts to immobilise the elephants – this was a tricky manoeuvre, as they not only had to select the right dose of tranquiliser for different-sized elephants but they had to dart the elephants as they were running around. This also had to be done as quickly as possible so as to minimise the stress caused.【Q34】 As soon as the elephants began to flop onto the ground, the team moved in to take care of them.
To avoid the risk of suffocation, the team had to make sure none of the elephants were lying on their chests because their lungs could be crushed in this position. So all the elephants had to be placed on their sides.【Q35】 One person stayed with each elephant while they waited for the vets to do checks. It was very important to keep an eye on their breathing – if there were fewer than six breaths per minute, the elephant would need urgent medical attention.【Q36】 Collars were fitted to the matriarch in each group so their movements could be tracked in their new home. Measurements were taken of each elephant’s tusks – elephants with large tusks would be at greater risk from poachers – and also of their feet.【Q37】 The elephants were then taken to a recovery area before being loaded onto trucks and transported to their new home.
The elephants translocated to Nkhotakota settled in very well and the project has generally been accepted to have been a huge success – and not just for the elephants. Employment prospects have improved enormously, contributing to rising living standards for the whole community.【Q38】 Poaching is no longer an issue, as former poachers are able to find more reliable sources of income. In fact, many of them volunteered to give up their weapons, as they were no longer of any use to them.【Q39】
More than two dozen elephants have been born at Nkhotakota since relocation. With an area of more than 1,800 square kilometres, there’s plenty of space for the elephant population to continue to grow. Their presence is also helping to rebalance Nkhotakota’s damaged ecosystem and providing a sustainable conservation model, which could be replicated in other parks. All this has been a big draw for tourism, which contributes five times more than the illegal wildlife trade to GDP, and this is mainly because of the elephants.【Q40】 There’s also been a dramatic rise in interest …
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
听前预测：定位词为上一句的 hunger；提示词为 damage to、in the park，此处应填名词，内容为保护区中遭受损害的对象。
题目解析：本题定位词 hunger 原词出现后，注意抓听名词对象，听到第一个符合诉求的为fences，填写。此处题干的 damage 对应原文中的 knock down。本题注意积累雅思常考用词。
听前预测：定位词为 group of elephants；提示词为 same、was selected，此处应填单数可数或不可数的名词。
题目解析：本题定位词 group 原词出现后，抓听名词，随即听到 family 符合诉求，填写。此处题干的 same 对应原文中的 all belonging to one。注意后文提及的 time 虽然 搭配题干的 same 一词出现，但并不搭配题干语义。原文指大象同一时间迁移，而非同一时间选择。故为干扰信息。
听前预测：定位词为 vets、park staff、open plain；提示词为 made use of、guide the elephants，此处应填名词，内容为引导大象所用的途径、方法或工具。
题目解析：本题定位词 vets 原词出现，定位信息已经较为充分，不论是否能识别题干的park staff 在原文中被具象化为 park rangers 这一信息，都要准备好开始听第 33 题。抓听名词，马上听到 helicopters，符合诉求，填写。随后听到的名词不符合诉求，最后听到另一定位词 open plain 原词给出，进一步确认答案。注意本题 题干信息与原文替换较大，题干中的 made use of 在上下文的理解中才能得出，找不到具体对应的词，也不需要找。本题注意积累雅思常考词汇，积累用词搭配。
听前预测：定位词为上一句的 tranquilisers；提示词为 quickly、reduce，此处应填名词，且 该词能够搭配 reduce 一词。
题目解析：本题定位词 tranquiliser 原词出现后，第一个符合诉求的名词为 stress，填写。本 题题干的 reduce 在原文中被替换为 minimise。
听前预测：定位词为 lungs；提示词为 be turned on their、to avoid damage，此处应填名词，且该词能够搭配 their 一词。
题目解析：本题定位词 lungs 在原文附近出现若干名词，但是只有 sides 能够搭配题干表达，且符合原文语义，填写。注意本题 chests 为干扰信息，搭配 none 这一否定信息出现，原文说整个团队必须确保没有一头大象是趴着的，这与题干表达刚好相反。
听前预测：提示词为 elephants’、monitored，此处应填名词。
题目解析：注意本题题干与上一题接续出现，且无明显定位信息。完成第 35 题的过程也要 注意是否有搭配第 36 题题干表达的信息出现。do checks、keep an eye on 均为题干 monitored 一词的替换，听到 breathing 符合诉求，填写。本题难度较高，注意积累用词搭配。
听前预测：定位词为 tusks；提示词为 and，此处应填名词。
题目解析：定位词 tusks 原词出现，且出现了两遍。随后抓听名词，先听到 poachers，但不匹配题干语义，再听。听到 feet，完美搭配题干表达 size of their，故填写。本题语法方面，注意谓语动词 was taken 搭配的主语不是答案词，而是 data 一词，为不可数名词。
听前预测：定位词为上一句小标题 Nkhotakota Wildlife Park；提示词为 opportunities，此处应填修饰机会的名词或形容词。
题目解析：定位词 Nkhotakota 原词出现后，听到 employment，搭配题干表达，填写。本题题干 opportunities 在原文中结合语境理解，被替换为 prospects，指（就业）前景。本题注意积累雅思常考词以及常见用词搭配。
听前预测：定位词为 poachers；提示词为 and，此处应填名词，且该名词在数量上是减少的。
题目解析：定位信息 poaching 以及 poachers 反复出现，随后抓听名词，听到 income，但不匹配题干 number 一词，继续听。听到 weapons，符合诉求，填写。本题题干 reduction in the number of 结合上下文语境，在原文中被替换为 give up 以及 no longer。
听前预测：定位词为上一句的 other parks，以及本句中的 GDP；提示词为 an increase in，此处应填名词。
题目解析：本题与上一题衔接比较松散，注意耐心等待，抓听名词。听到定位词 other parks 原词给出后，抓听名词。听到 tourism 为第一个搭配题干表达 an increase in 的词，填写。随后听到另一定位词 GDP，进一步确认答案。本题题干 increase 在原文被替换为 a big draw 以及 five times more than。注意本题答案附近的 trade 恰恰是比较关系中处于劣势的对象，不搭配题干的增长这一信息，为干扰词。