雅思阅读材料之现代版狼人的生活

Many women might be put off by an ex-soldier who spent nearly three years living with wolves in a muddy wildlife park without taking a shower - but Shaun Ellis has finally found his match.

如果遇到一个在泥泞的野生公园与狼群共同生活了近三年而又不曾洗过一次澡的退役兵，许多女人怕是要犹豫畏缩了吧。但是肖恩-艾力斯却找到了他的伴侣。

The 47-year-old ‘Wolfman’, who is believed to have the strongest bond with the wild animals of any human, taught his girlfriend Isla, 30, how to live as one of them - and now they have tied the knot.

这位47岁的“狼人” 可以说比任何人都更亲近野生动物。他甚至教会30岁的女友艾拉如何与狼群一起生活。现在他们已经喜结连理。

The couple met in September 2009, and more than two years after their first date in April 2010, they wed in a Native American ceremony in Devon, wearing traditional dress and writing their own vows.

他们在2009年9月次邂逅，2010年4月开始约会，两年多后的今天，他们身穿传统服装，写下彼此誓愿，在英国德文郡举行了一场土著仪式的婚礼。

Mrs Ellis said: ‘It was love at first sight when I met Shaun. I didn’t really know what love was until I was introduced to him. I always had an image in my head of my ideal man, and I guess Shaun is him.

艾力斯太太说：“遇见肖恩的眼我就爱上了他。未遇他之前，我还不懂情为何物，只会在脑中想象白马王子的样子。我觉得肖恩就是这个白马王子吧。”

Shaun has taught me a lot about the wolves, especially to respect them. Thankfully I’ve never been attacked or injured by them as it doesn’t make sense for them to harm a fellow pack member.'

“肖恩教会我很多有关狼的事情，特别是要尊重它们。很幸运，我从没受到狼群的攻击或伤害，或许它们觉得不该伤害它们的伙伴吧。”

Her husband spent two-and-a-half years hunting, eating, howling and sleeping with four male wolves in a park - even restricting his diet to meat and not showering so his body odour would match theirs.

她的丈夫用两年半的时间与四只公狼一起在公园里狩猎、吃东西、嚎叫和睡觉。为了让自己闻起来更像狼，他甚至只吃肉类，而且也不洗澡。

Mr. Ellis said: ‘I feel completely at home with the wolves. I’ve always felt more comfortable in their presence than I have ever felt in the human world.

艾力斯先生说：“我觉得跟狼群在一起很自在，甚至比在人类世界里更舒坦。”

When I’m away from them I miss them terribly, I almost need and long for them. To me they are exactly the same as a human family because we are so closely connected.

“如果不在一起，我会非常想念它们。我需要它们，渴望和它们呆在一起。我们是如此亲密，对我而言，它们就像我的人类亲人一样。”

So when I met Isla I wanted to share them with her. It only seemed natural. We are one big family.’

“遇到艾拉后，我很想跟她分享它们。一切似乎都很自然。我们是一个大家庭。”

The couple now split their time between quaint village life and their family - seven North American Timber wolves. Mrs Ellis said she is fulfilling ‘everything I ever wanted to do’ with her life.

这对夫妇现在的时间都用在体验离奇有趣的乡下生活和照顾亲人上了，他们的亲人就是七只北美材狼。艾力斯太太说自己正在经历“毕生渴望做的事情”。

She added: ‘It’s a lifestyle that I absolutely love and enjoy. We want to educate people about how we can co-exist with wildlife - and what better way to do that than learn directly from the pack?

她还说：“我非常喜欢并享受这种生活方式。我们希望告诉人们我们是如何与野生世界共同生活的。还有什么方法能比直接向它们学习更好呢？”

I can’t imagine doing anything other than running with the wolf pack and studying their behaviour - they teach us far more than we ever would think.

“除了跟随狼群奔跑、研究它们的习性，我想不出自己还能做别的。它们教会我们的，已经远远超出了我们的想象。”

‘My friends and family love the fact I am happy here with them. They can see it is an absolute ideal environment for me.

“我的亲朋好友都很乐意看到我开心地跟狼群呆在一起。他们也看得出来，这里的环境对我而言太完美了。”

Their extraordinary integration into the packs is aimed at helping shed light on the behaviour of wolves, giving scientists around the world spectacular insight.

这对夫妇如此特别地深入狼群，是为了研究狼的习性，为世界各地的科学家提供更好的资料。

But despite an apparent ease at being accepted, Mr Ellis was often bitten by his wolf family.

虽然很明显已经被狼群接受，但艾力斯先生还是时常被咬伤。

He added: ‘They would most probably be too afraid of a human to actually do us any harm but the potential is definitely there. Even boisterous play from them can end up in several stitches.

他说：“或许它们本意并非要伤害我们，只是太害怕人类了吧。反正被咬的可能性还是存在的。哪怕只跟它们打闹戏耍，也可能被咬伤挠破。”

'Although they don’t intend to harm me, one mistake could prove fatal. That’s when it is most scary.’

“就算它们没想伤害我，一旦疏忽后果还是很危险。所以有时候挺可怕的。”

Mr Ellis said he has been called a ‘madman’, ‘crazy’ and ‘a lunatic’ by people when telling them about his profession.

艾力斯先生说，每当提起自己的职业，人们总会叫他“疯子”、“疯了”或“神经病”。

But he added: ‘On occasions I probably have questioned it myself. But it only takes one person to value your work to realise I can make a difference.’

但是他又说：“有时候我自己也会犹疑不定。可只要有一个人重视我的工作，我就觉得一切都很有意义吧。”