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新概念第四册Lesson 41 Training elephants

2021-07-16 15:32:00来源：网络

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　　Lesson 41

　　Training elephants

　　训练大象

　　At what point does the training of a captive wild elephant begin?

　　Two main techniques have been used for training elephants, which we may

　　call respectively the tough and the gentle. The former method simply consists of

　　setting an elephant to work and beating him until he does what is expected of

　　him. Apart from any moral considerations this is a stupid method of training,

　　for it produces a resentful animal who at a later stage may well turn

　　man-killer. The gentle method requires more patience in the early stages, but

　　produces a cheerful, good-tempered elephant who will give many years of loyal

　　service.

　　The first essential in elephant training is to assign to the animal a

　　single mahout who will be entirely responsible for the job. Elephants like to

　　have one master just as dogs do, and are capable of a considerable degree of

　　personal affection. There are even stories of half-trained elephant calves who

　　have refused to feed and pined to death when by some unavoidable circumstance

　　they have been deprived of their own trainer. Such extreme cases must probably

　　be taken with a grain of salt, but they do underline the general principle that

　　the relationship between elephant and mahout is the key to successful

　　training.

　　The most economical age to capture an elephant for training is between 15

　　and 20 years, for it is then almost ready to undertake heavy work and can begin

　　to earn its keep straight away. But animals of this age do not easily become

　　subservient to man, and a very firm hand must be employed in the early stages.

　　The captive elephant, still roped to a tree, plunges and screams every time a

　　man approaches, and for several days will probably refuse all food through anger

　　and fear. Sometimes a tame elephant is tethered nearby to give the wild one

　　confidence, and in most cases the captive gradually quietens down and begins to

　　accept its food. The next stage is to get the elephant to the training

　　establishment, a ticklish business which is achieved with the aid of two tame

　　elephants roped to the captive on either side.

　　When several elephants are being trained at one time, it is customary for

　　the new arrival to be placed between the stalls of two captives whose training

　　is already well advanced. It is then left completely undisturbed with plenty of

　　food and water so that it can absorb the atmosphere of its new home and see that

　　nothing particularly alarming is happening to its companions. When it is eating

　　normally, its own training begins. The trainer stands in front of the elephant

　　holding a long stick with a sharp metal point. Two assistants, mounted on tame

　　elephants, control the captive from either side, while others rub their hands

　　over his skin to the accompaniment of a monotonous and soothing chant. This is

　　supposed to induce pleasurable sensations in the elephant, and its effects are

　　reinforced by the use of endearing epithets. such as 'ho! my son', or 'ho! my

　　father', or 'my mother', according to the age and sex of the captive. The

　　elephant is not immediately susceptible to such blandishments, however, and

　　usually lashes fiercely with its trunk in all directions. These movements are

　　controlled by the trainer with the metal-pointed stick, and the trunk eventually

　　becomes so sore that the elephant curls it up and seldom afterwards uses it for

　　offensive purposes.

　　RICHARD CARRINGTON Elephants

　　New words and expressions 生词与短语

　　technique

　　n. 技术

　　tough

　　adj. 强硬的

　　resentful

　　adj. 忿恨不满的

　　assign

　　v. 分配，指派

　　mahout

　　n. 驯象人

　　calf

　　n. 幼仔

　　pine

　　v. 消瘦

　　underline

　　v. 着重说明，强调

　　keep

　　n. 生计

　　subservient

　　adj. 屈从的

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