广州八年级英语下册Unit5单词/课文【2026版】

Unit 5 Saving animals in danger

Unit 5 Saving animals in danger

One family, two worlds: an elephant’s story

一个家族，两个世界：一头大象的故事

I'm now very old and near the end of my life. But I can still remember many many years ago, I lived with my mother, aunts and cousins in a wild and beautiful land. We enjoyed our time under the deep blue sky. We had more than enough to eat. We never worried about anything until one day, when I was about three.

我如今已垂垂老矣，生命正走向尽头。但我仍记得许多许多年前，我和母亲、阿姨们还有表亲们生活在一片野性又美丽的土地上。我们在澄澈的蓝天之下自在度日，食物绰绰有余，从无烦忧 —— 直到我三岁那年的某一天。

On that day, a group of two-legged strangers appeared in front of us— I found out later that they were humans. Without warning they raised their guns and shot dead my mother and several of my relatives. As I was about to be shot, one of them said, “Keep that little one. He’s handsome and seems smart. We can make greater use of him.” I was then trained and forced to do all kinds of stupid tricks to make humans laugh.

那天，一群用双腿行走的陌生人出现在我们面前 —— 后来我才知道他们是人类。他们毫无预兆地举起枪，射杀了我的母亲和几位亲人。就在我即将被射杀时，其中一人说：“留着这小家伙，他看着既俊朗又机灵，我们能更好地利用他。” 之后我便被训练，被迫表演各种愚蠢的把戏来博取人类的欢笑。

Now, years and years later, things are changing for the better. Our population is starting to grow again. My great great grandsons and granddaughters are able to move freely across the land. They search for food, water and places to rest. The little ones sometimes damage crops and people’s homes. But they are not chased or harmed. There are no angry humans going after them. Instead, people leave them bags of corn and fruit on the roadside. The food leads them in the right direction back to their homeland. Drones follow their progress and volunteers protect them from harm. The little ones do not have to worry about anything. They move around without a care in the world. They eat when they are hungry and sleep when tired. They swim in the river and play when they feel like it. No one forces them to move away from their land.

如今，多年过去，一切都在好转。我们的种群数量开始回升。我的玄孙辈们可以在这片土地上自由迁徙，寻找食物、水源与休憩之所。小家伙们有时会破坏庄稼和人类的房屋，但他们不会被驱赶或伤害，也没有愤怒的人类追捕他们。相反，人们会在路边给他们留下一袋袋玉米和水果，这些食物引导着他们回到自己的家园。无人机追踪着他们的行踪，志愿者们也在保护他们免受伤害。小家伙们无忧无虑，饿了就吃，累了就睡，想玩的时候就去河里游泳嬉戏。没人强迫他们离开自己的土地。

What a different world this is! This is a world of harmony between man and other animals. In the old world, we were killed for our tusks. In this new world, humans respect and value all animal species.

这是一个多么截然不同的世界啊！这是一个人与其他动物和谐共处的世界。在过去的旧世界里，我们因象牙而遭猎杀；在这个新世界里，人类尊重并珍视所有的动物物种。

Unit 5 Saving animals in danger

The story of the red-crowned crane

丹顶鹤的故事

Have you ever heard the song “The Story of the Red-Crowned Crane”? You may think it is about a rare bird. In fact, it is about a girl called Xu Xiujuan.

你听过《丹顶鹤的故事》这首歌吗？你可能会以为它是在讲一种珍稀鸟类，实际上，它讲述的是一个名叫徐秀娟的女孩的故事。

Xiujuan was born in Zhalong, Heilongjiang Province, in 1964. Her father looked after red-crowned cranes at the local nature reserve. These tall, slim-necked birds are a symbol of luck, long life and loyalty, but they are now among the rarest crane species in the world.

徐秀娟 1964 年出生于黑龙江省扎龙，她的父亲在当地的自然保护区照料丹顶鹤。这种身形高挑、脖颈纤细的鸟类是吉祥、长寿与忠贞的象征，但如今已位列世界最珍稀的鹤类之一。

Xiujuan loved birds and started helping her father with his work at 17. At first, it was hard, but later she became very good at taking care of them. When she hatched her first cranes, she was only a teenager.

徐秀娟热爱鸟类，17 岁时就开始帮父亲打理工作。起初这份工作很艰难，但后来她变得非常擅长照料这些鸟儿。当她成功孵化出第一批丹顶鹤时，还只是个十几岁的少女。

When she was 21, Xiujuan was offered a job at a nature reserve in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. She carefully packed three red-crowned crane eggs and took them with her to Yancheng. The trip was long but Xiujuan made sure the eggs were warm and safe.

21 岁时，徐秀娟得到了江苏盐城自然保护区的一份工作。她小心翼翼地打包了三枚丹顶鹤蛋，带着它们前往盐城。旅途漫长，但徐秀娟全程确保鸟蛋温暖且安全。

Xiujuan worked hard at the nature reserve. She not only cared for cranes, but also looked after swans and other bird species. Whenever a bird became sick, she would stay with it day and night until it was strong enough to fly again.

在自然保护区里，徐秀娟工作十分勤恳。她不仅照料丹顶鹤，也照顾天鹅和其他鸟类。每当有鸟儿生病，她都会日夜守在一旁，直到鸟儿恢复体力、能够再次飞翔。

One day in 1987, two swans went missing. The workers in the nature reserve looked everywhere for them. Xiujuan was alarmed, and searched for them for two days and nights. Since it is typical of swans to feed in the wetlands, she decided to look for the birds there. She was hungry and thirsty, and her body was sore from swimming, but she continued searching in the water for many hours. Finally, she was too tired to return to the shore. Xiujuan lost her life. She was only 23.

1987 年的一天，两只天鹅失踪了。保护区的工作人员四处搜寻，徐秀娟心急如焚，连续两天两夜寻找它们。由于天鹅通常会在湿地觅食，她决定去那里寻找。她又饿又渴，游泳后的身体酸痛不已，但仍在水中搜寻了数小时。最终，她因体力不支无法返回岸边，不幸牺牲，年仅 23 岁。

Later, a song called “The Story of the Red-Crowned Crane” was written in memory of Xiujuan and her courage and dedication.

后来，人们创作了歌曲《丹顶鹤的故事》，以此纪念徐秀娟，歌颂她的勇气与奉献精神。