速读1 unit 12 翻译.doc

The unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible Oscar Wilde In one sense, the above quotation needs no further embellishment from me. I feel very strongly that the act of hunting with hounds is a cruel and unnecessary leftover from the days when we were a more ruthless, divided society of moneyed and peasant, with very little compassion for one another, let alone the animal kingdom. Pro-hunting folk, some of whom I know and have had very stirring debates with, will issue forth all sorts of reasons why hunting is a Good Thing: ? As a means of fox population control ? As a significant employer of country folk ? As a tradition ? As a control method more humane than the stated alternatives of gassing (用毒气杀死)or shooting ? As a sport As a horse owner, I dont deny the fact of a rather obvious肾上腺素adrenalin-fuelled thrill involved in galloping across country, accommodating all obstacles encountered with a skill (or otherwise) borne of hard-earned horsemanship (although it would be naive to assume that all the people who participate in hunting have suitable ridden expertise for the rigors of the hunting field). Personally, however, the perceived thrill of said activity loses every ounce of its appeal the moment one stops to think that at the heart of the whole setup is one poor fox, trying only to eke a living in his territory, to be subjected to the terror of being chased by a large pack of dogs to the point of exhaustion and violent death. By the admission of huntsfolk themselves, these creatures are often the old and infirm. As such, one might then assume that their chances of escape are pared down still further. How can we realistically make glib statements about the amount of suffering that animals under such conditions might feel? Is it not conceivable that the persecuted fox, running for his life, might be feeling abject terror in the face of a baying pack of bloodthirsty hounds? In our arrogance we, the human race, often seem to labour under the falsehood th