Saving Mr Chimp 拯救大猩猩先生
课文内容
词汇：Judicial case 庭审案例
Should animals be entitled to the same rights as people? The question is not so outlandish. A judge in the US once suggested that chimpanzees had the right to habeas corpus. Judge Barbara Jaffe was ruling on the case of Leo and Hercules. These two primates have their own lawyers arguing that they should be moved from a university lab to an animal sanctuary. She did change her mind after a while.
动物应该享有和人一样的权利吗?这个问题并不奇怪。美国一位法官曾表示，黑猩猩有权获得人身保护。法官芭芭拉·贾菲正在审理利奥和赫拉克勒斯的案子。这两只灵长类动物有自己的律师，他们认为应该把它们从大学实验室转移到动物保护区。过了一段时间她确实改变了主意。
Animals have always intrigued us. Some people find them very intelligent and capable of friendship, jealousy and longing. That's enough to give them rights, isn't it? Not for people like Professor Carl Cohen of the University of Michigan. He says that rights are a concept special to the human moral code. And animals don't know anything about right and wrong. The academic points out: "Animals do not commit crimes; animals are not attacked for their moral views."
动物总是引起我们的兴趣。有些人发现他们非常聪明，善于友谊、嫉妒和渴望。这就足够给他们权利了，不是吗?但对密歇根大学的卡尔·科恩教授这样的人来说却不是这样。他说权利是人类道德准则特有的概念。动物不知道对与错。学者指出:“动物不会犯罪;动物不会因为它们的道德观而受到攻击。”
In any case, humans have become more sensitive to animal suffering throughout the years. In 1999, New Zealand granted basic rights to five great ape species. Their use in research, testing or teaching was banned in a move seen as the greatest legal success in animal rights history.
无论如何，这些年来，人类对动物的痛苦变得更加敏感了。1999年，新西兰授予五种类人猿的基本权利。禁止在研究、测试或教学中使用它们，此举被视为动物权利史上最伟大的法律成功。
In 2002, in an unprecedented move in the European Union, Germany granted some rights to animals in its constitution.
2002年，在欧盟史无前例的举动中，德国在其宪法中赋予了动物一些权利。
The ambiguous relationship between people and animals can be perceived in language. In English the pronoun used for an animal is 'it'. But many people refer to their pets as 'he' or 'she'. It makes them more of an equal to us.
人与动物之间的暧昧关系可以通过语言来感知。在英语中，动物的代词是“it”。但很多人称他们的宠物为“他”或“她”。这让他们和我们更平等。
What do you think? Should animals have rights similar to humans?
你觉得呢?动物应该有和人类一样的权利吗?
词汇表
to be entitled 有资格的，有资格享受的
outlandish 奇异古怪的
a judge 一位法官
habeas corpus 人身保护权
to rule （动词）裁决
to argue 争辩
an animal sanctuary 一个动物庇护所、动物保护区
a moral code 一项道德规范
to commit crimes 犯罪
to grant basic rights 授予基本权力
legal 法律（上）的
unprecedented 前所未有的，没有先例的
constitution 宪法，大法
ambiguous 模糊的，不明确的
测验与练习
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. Who might be moving from a lab to a sanctuary?
2. What do animals lack, according to Professor Carl Cohen?
3. What can't apes be used for in New Zealand?
4. Which pronouns can you use for animals in English?
5. Which noun means 'feeling pain or distress'?
2. 请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。
1. When Joanne got divorced the judge said she was __________ to half of her husband's assets.
granted entitled given taken
2. Men and women are __________ before the law.
sensitive relative equal similar
3. I must point __________ that not everything you say is true.
at to on out
4. The judge told Mr Ross: "If you __________ the crime, you have to accept the punishment."
make commit act take
5. Lady Gaga wears __________ clothes. She has even worn an outfit made of meat!
outside out of bounds outlandish out of order
答案
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. Who might be moving from a lab to a sanctuary?
Primates Leo and Hercules.
2. What do animals lack, according to Professor Carl Cohen?
A moral code, which includes the concept of right and wrong.
3. What can't apes be used for in New Zealand?
Research, testing or teaching.
4. Which pronouns can you use for animals in English?
It, she, he, they.
5. Which noun means 'feeling pain or distress'?
Suffering.
2. 请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。
1. When Joanne got divorced the judge said she was entitled to half of her husband's assets.
2. Men and women are equal before the law.
3. I must point out that not everything you say is true.
4. The judge told Mr Ross: "If you commit the crime, you have to accept the punishment."
5. Lady Gaga wears outlandish clothes. She has even worn an outfit made of meat!
文章来源BBC，侵权删，本文仅用于英语学习。
