ferocious [fə'rəʊʃəs]
adj. 残忍的;惊人的
图片来源：图虫创意
In a kind of odd man-versus-nature moment, a Russian navy boat was attacked and sunk by a walrus during an expedition in the Arctic.
在一次北极探险中，俄罗斯海军的一艘船遭到了海象的袭击并被击沉了，这有点像人与自然对抗的奇特时刻。
The Altai, a tugboat of the Russian navy's Northern Fleet, sailed to the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the Arctic carrying researchers from the Russian Geographical Society.
俄罗斯海军北方舰队的一艘拖船“阿尔泰”号载着俄罗斯地理学会的研究人员驶往北极的弗朗茨约瑟夫群岛。
"The polar latitudes are fraught with many dangers," the research group posted in a recent press update.
“极地纬度地区充斥着许多危险，”该研究小组在最近更新的新闻稿中写道。
One of those dangers is apparently walruses, a monstrously large animal that can weigh up to a few thousand pounds and can be quite ferocious when threatened.
其中的一项危险显然来自一种可怕的大型动物海象，其体重可达几千磅，受到威胁时非常凶猛。
To get ashore from the Altai, the researchers and other expedition participants had to rely on smaller landing craft.
为了从阿尔泰登陆，研究员和其他考察人员不得不使用更小的登陆艇。
During one landing, the "group of researchers had to flee from a female walrus, which, while protecting its cubs, attacked an expedition boat," the Northern Fleet said.
在一次登陆中，“一队研究员不得不远离一只雌海象，这只雌海象为了保护幼崽而袭击了一艘探险船，”北方舰队说道。
The navy added that "serious troubles were avoided thanks to the clear and well-coordinated actions of the Northern Fleet service members, who were able to take the boat away from the animals without harming them."
俄罗斯海军补充道，“多亏了北方舰队服役人员清晰且协调一致的行动，才避免了严重的麻烦，得以在不伤害这些动物的情况下把船开走。
”
The Barents Observer reports that a drone was being operated in close proximity to the walruses. It is unclear if this is what triggered the aggression.
据《巴伦支观察者》报道，一架无人机在海象附近执行任务。目前尚不清楚这是否是引发此次攻击的原因。
While the Russian military makes no mention of any equipment losses, the Geographical Society had a bit more to say on what happened.
虽然俄罗斯军方没有提及任何设备损失，但对于发生的事情，地理学会有很多话想说。
"Walruses attacked the participating boat," the research group explained. "The boat sank, but the tragedy was avoided thanks to the clear actions of the squad leader. All the landing participants safely reached the shore."
研究小组解释道：“海象袭击了参与者的船，那艘船沉没了。不过，多亏了队长明确的行动指令，才避免了悲剧，所有登陆者都安全上岸了。”
This wasn't the Russian navy's first run-in with walruses.
这不是俄罗斯海军第一次与海象发生冲突。
This past May, photos believed to be from 2006 surfaced online of a large walrus napping on top of a Russian submarine.
今年5月，网上传出了据说是2006年拍摄的一张照片，照片上一只大海象正在一艘俄罗斯潜艇上打盹。
今日词汇
ferocious [fə'rəʊʃəs]
adj. 残忍的;惊人的
a pack of ferocious dogs
一群恶狗
The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.
那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。
