BBC初級口語:A New Foot for an Elephant 大象的新腳大綱

Background: 十年前，在泰國做木材運輸的一隻大象Motola 踏中地雷，被迫截肢，失去了她的左前足。Motola 的不幸遭遇引起了國際社會的同情， 捐款紛紛涌入。現在她已經年滿48歲，值得慶幸的是經過現代醫學和一家專門設計人工假肢的慈善機構的支持，她的左腳裝上了義肢，終於能再一次腳踏實地了。

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【文本】

It was during a break from hauling logs that Motola, foraging for food, stepped on a land mine. A fortnight later, at Lampang elephant hospital, five surgeons and twelve nurses worked for three hours to amputate Motola's front left foot and save her life.

Her fate drew attention to the border region between Thailand and Burma, which is littered with land mines. And the television pictures showing the elephant hobbling on three legs, weeping with pain, had people donating thousands of dollars for her treatment within days.

But it was six years until Motola was well enough to be fitted with her first, provisional artificial limb: a sawdust-filled canvas shoe. Since then, experts at the Prostheses Foundation, a charity that normally produces cheap but efficient prosthetic devices for humans, took a cast of Motola's leg to mould a proper foot for her.

If she is happy with the new, much more stable device, Motola will be able to walk around with a little elephant called Mosha. She was only a baby when she too stepped on a land mine. Her first artificial leg was fitted in 2007. Mosha is doing well and, having outgrown two prosthetic limbs, the three-year-old is now walking around on a third.

【口語突破】

hauling logs
搬運木材

foraging
尋找食物

land mine
地雷

amputate
截肢

fate
命運

drew attention
注意力，得到關注

littered
到處都是（貶義）

hobbling
跛腳行走

had people
讓人們

provisional
臨時的

artificial limb
假肢

sawdust-filled canvas shoe
塞滿鋸木屑的布鞋

prosthetic
義肢的，假體的

cast
模子

mould
做成模型

outgrown
成得比… 快/大

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重點單詞查看全部解釋foundation[faun'deiʃən]

想一想再看

n. 基礎，根據，建立
n. 粉底霜，基

聯想記憶X單詞foundation聯想記憶：
found（v 建立；使有根據）作爲詞根表示：底部

border['bɔ:də]

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n. 邊界，邊境，邊緣
vt. 與 ... 接

provisional[prə'viʒənəl]

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adj. 暫時的 n. 臨時性，臨時人員

聯想記憶X單詞provisional聯想記憶：
pro前，vision（n 視力；幻想），al：前面的幻想是臨時的。

canvas['kænvəs]

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n. 帆布，（帆布）畫布，油畫

limb[lim]

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n. 枝幹，樹枝，肢體
vt. 切斷(樹枝，手

device[di'vais]

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n. 裝置，設計，策略，設備

stable['steibl]

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adj. 穩定的，安定的，可靠的
n. 馬廄，

聯想記憶X單詞stable聯想記憶：
st站，立+able→能站的→穩定的

charity['tʃæriti]

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n. 慈善，慈善機關(團體), 仁慈，寬厚

聯想記憶X單詞charity聯想記憶：
char茶，ity狀態－請喝茶的狀態－施捨－仁慈

cast[kɑ:st]

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v. 投，擲，拋，鑄造，丟棄，指定演員，加起來，投射(目

efficient[i'fiʃənt]

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adj. 效率高的，勝任的

聯想記憶X單詞efficient聯想記憶：
ef出+fic做，製作+ent→能做出事來→有效率的