中国南方洪灾 上演救猪总动员

Amid floods in China, Stranded Pigs Are Thrown a Lifeline

中国南方洪灾，上演“救猪总动员”

BEIJING — The floods battering southern China are a deadly menace. Sustained heavy rains have killed at least 128 people so far, and hundreds of thousands have moved from vulnerable areas. And the destructive weather is likely to continue.

北京——中国南方遭受洪水袭击，造成人员伤亡。迄今为止，持续的暴雨已经造成至少128人死亡，数十万人从危险地区转移。灾害性天气很可能还将持续。

But people found a bit of respite from the grim news on Tuesday when some of the thousands of pigs that appeared destined for a watery end were rescued, one day after their keepers had bid them a tearful goodbye.

但是，严峻的洪灾新闻中也出现了一点让人高兴的事，本周二，数千只似乎注定会被淹死的生猪获救了，就在一天之前，饲养员才挥泪和它们诀别。

On Monday, the Chinese news media showed pictures of Li Zuming, a worker at a pig farm in Anhui Province, who was distraught as he waded through rising waters that threatened to drown thousands of pigs. Some animals gathered around another worker, as if to ask whether there was anything he could do.

周一，中国新闻媒体发布了安徽省某猪场员工李祖明的图片，他费力地趟过正在上涨的洪水，忧心如焚地看着养殖场里即将被淹死的生猪。一些猪聚集在另一名工人周围，好像是在问他能不能想点办法。

Pigs can be strong swimmers, as they demonstrate in diving displays that some Chinese pig farms use to improve the animals’ flesh and amuse visitors. But the floods in Anhui appeared likely to overwhelm these factory-farm swine.

猪也可以是游泳健将，一些图片显示，中国有些养殖场为了改善猪肉肉质，逗游客开心，让猪在水里玩。但安徽的洪水似乎会把这些养殖场的猪淹没。

“More than 6,000 pigs inside have no hope of survival,” said one of the news reports that ignited national sympathy for Mr. Li and his threatened animals. (A newspaper, The Southern Metropolitan Daily, later said that there were in fact 3,000 pigs stuck in the rising waters.)

“场内6000余头生猪已无生存希望”，新闻报道称，这引发了大家对李祖明和这些面临灭顶之灾的动物的同情。（《南方都市报》后来说是3000头猪被困在上涨的洪水中。）

Sanitation rules, among other reasons, meant that the pigs could not simply be released to swim for their lives, because that might spread disease or leave animal corpses floating around.

基于包括卫生条例在内的许多原因，他们不能为了让这些生猪活命而直接放了它们，让它们涉水逃生，因为这可能会传播疾病，或导致动物尸体四处漂浮。

But in a twist worthy of the movie “Babe,” many of the pigs won a reprieve on Tuesday. The government of Lu’an, a city in Anhui, mobilized workers to help relocate the pigs, reported The Paper, a Chinese news website.

但是，堪比电影《小猪宝贝》(Babe)的事情发生了，本周二，很多生猪获得了救援。中国新闻网站《澎湃新闻》报道称，安徽六安市的政府动员了工作人员来帮助转运救援这些生猪。

“As well, some members of the public came to help of their own accord, and soon, there were 50 or 60 there,” the report said. Another news report showed pictures of rescuers dragging the creatures to safety and herding them on trucks.

“也有其他的一些民众自发前来帮忙，目前现场总共有五六十人，”报道称。另一条新闻图片显示，救援人员把这些猪拖到安全的地方，然后赶上卡车。

People less misty-eyed about pigs may point out that pork is big business in China, and that prices have been rising, even before the floods struck. Some online commenters pointed out that the rescued pigs would go straight to the slaughterhouse and end up on dining tables before long. But other observers enjoyed the moment.

对猪没那么有感情的人可能会指出，猪肉在中国是一门大生意，甚至在洪水爆发之前，猪肉价格就已经在上涨。一些网民评论说，救出的生猪会直接被送到屠宰场，没多久就出现在餐桌上。但其他人对这件事感到高兴。

“Heartwarming!” declared Xinhua, the state news agency.

“很温馨！”官方新闻社新华社称。