41 · 训练大象
Training Elephants
区分观点、依据、例子与限制，用自己的话准确重建论述。
时代语境：本课描述传统捕象、训象做法，供理解文章的步骤、比较与评价；它不是本站建议采用的动物训练方法。
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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 fifteen and twenty 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.
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整篇课文
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 fifteen and twenty 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.
训练大象主要采用过两种方法，我们姑且称之为强硬法和温和法。前一种方法很简单：让大象干活，打到它照人的要求去做为止。即使不考虑道德问题，这也是一种愚蠢的训练方法，因为这样训出来的大象满怀怨恨，日后很可能伤人致死。温和的方法在初期需要更多耐心，却能训出性情愉快、脾气温顺的大象，忠实地为人服务多年。
训象的首要条件，是给每头象固定安排一名驯象员，由他全权负责。大象和狗一样，喜欢认定一个主人，也能与人建立很深的感情。甚至有这样的传闻：有些小象尚未完全驯服，就因不可避免的原因与自己的驯象员分开，结果拒绝进食，日渐消瘦，最终死去。这些极端故事恐怕不能尽信，但它们确实说明了一个基本原则：大象与驯象员的关系，是训练能否成功的关键。
从经济上看，捕来训练的大象以十五至二十岁最合适，因为这时它们已差不多能干重活，可以马上开始挣回饲养费用。不过，这个年龄的大象不容易服从人，训练初期必须采用十分强硬的手段。刚捕来的大象拴在树上，一有人靠近，就向前猛冲、大声嘶叫，还可能因为愤怒和恐惧，一连几天拒绝进食。有时，人们会把一头驯服的象拴在旁边，让野象安心一些。多数情况下，被捕的象会渐渐安静下来，开始进食。下一步是把它带到训练场。这是件棘手的事，需要把两头驯象分别拴在它的两侧，协助押送。
同时训练几头象时，通常会把新来的象安置在两头训练已颇有进展的象之间。随后，人们给它充足的食物和水，完全不去打扰，让它慢慢熟悉新家的环境，也看看同伴身上并没有发生什么特别可怕的事。等它进食正常后，训练才正式开始。驯象员手持一根带尖锐金属头的长棍，站到象的面前。 两名助手骑在驯象背上，从两侧控制新捕来的象；其他人则一边哼着单调、舒缓的曲调，一边用手抚摸它的皮肤。人们认为，这样能让大象感到舒服。为了加强效果，他们还会根据象的年龄和性别，亲昵地叫它“嗬，我的孩子”“嗬，我的父亲”或“我的母亲”。然而，大象不会马上被这些哄劝打动，通常仍会猛烈地朝四面八方甩动鼻子。驯象员用带金属尖头的棍子制止这些动作。最后，象鼻疼得卷了起来，此后它也很少再用鼻子攻击人。
学完这一课
列两项对象时用respectively保持名称对应。
译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第178—183页，2022年2月第2版。