離家500公里
A herd of 15 Asian elephants entered the outskirts of Kunming, the main city of Yunnan province in southwest China, after traveling 500 kilometers for unknown reasons.
中國西南部有15頭亞洲象在因不明原因行進了500公里之後，進入了雲南省主要城市昆明的市郊。
a herd of elephants一群大象
Kunming and its neighboring city Yuxi deployed nearly 700 policemen and emergency workers, who were backed up by trucks and drones. Armed with 10 metric tons of corn, pineapples and other food, they tried to divert the animals onto a safe path.
昆明及與其接壤的玉溪市部署了近700名警察和救難人員，他們以卡車和無人機作為後盾，載著10公噸的玉米、鳳梨等食物，試圖將大象引導到安全的路徑上。
deploy(v.)部署;調動back sb. up支持;幫助(某人)drone(n.)無人機arm(v.)為…提供武器或裝備;武裝be armed with…有…武器或裝備divert(v.)使改變方向、使轉向
Residents were instructed by local authorities not to gawk or leave food out in their yards.
地方當局指示居民不要盯著大象看，或是把食物留在院子裡，
local authorities 地方當局gawk(v.)傻傻地看;呆呆地盯著看
They were also told to keep a safe distance and avoid using firecrackers to scare the elephants away.
也被告知要與大象保持安全距離，也不要用鞭炮把大象嚇跑。
keep a safe distance保持安全距離
For months, the elephants’ trek had gone almost unnoticed.
幾個月來，人類幾乎沒有注意到大象在長途跋涉。
Their expedition to the north began when they left a nature reserve in Xishuangbanna in the southwest corner of Yunnan in March last year.
他們去年3月離開位於雲南省西南部西雙版納的一座自然保護區，一路向北。
expedition(n.)遠征;探險an expedition to the Antarctic赴南極探險reserve(n.)保護區a nature reserve自然保護區a wildlife reserve野生動物保護區
It was not until last week when images of the animals walking through a residential area appeared online that the media started to cover the story, sparking questions as to why the elephants left their habitat to embark on their odyssey.
直到上個禮拜，大象路過住宅區的照片出現在網路上，媒體才開始報導，引發大眾好奇為什麼大象會離開棲息地踏上旅程。
It was…that…分裂句not until…直到…才….cover(v.)報導;採訪sparking…=which sparked…引起;激起as to…關於=about=regardinghabitat(n.)棲地embark on sth. 開始、著手做odyssey(n.)漫長而驚險的旅程=a long and adventurous journey
It remains unclear what prompted the elephant’s epic journey.
目前尚不清楚是什麼原因促使大象踏上漫長的旅程。
prompt(v.)引起、導致、激起epic(n.)史詩(adj.)史詩般的;漫長而艱難的
Some experts have suggested an inexperienced leader may have led the herd astray, whereas others believe the elephants could be looking for a new habitat.
有些專家認為，可能是缺乏經驗的領頭象迷了路，也有專家則認為大象可能在尋找新的棲息地。
inexperienced(adj.) 缺乏經驗的，不熟練的lead...astray 使迷路、走錯方向whereas(conj.)然而=while
Over the past 20 years, habitable areas for Asian elephants have shrunk dramatically as natural forests have been converted into rubber and tea plantations.
過去的20年來，隨著天然森林被改造成橡膠園和茶園，亞洲象的棲地大幅縮減。
shrink-shrank-shrunk 縮水;減少dramatically(adv.)戲劇化地;明顯地be converted into…被改成…、轉變成…=be turned into…plantation(n.)(尤指熱帶的)農園
With their traditional sources of food depleted in their habitat, the animals are now turning to crops like corn and sugar cane.
因為原本在棲地習慣吃的食物已消耗殆盡，亞洲象現在必須改吃玉米和甘蔗等作物。
With O OC…因為…deplete(v.)用光;耗盡=exhaust=use up
The Asian elephant is an endangered species that mainly lives in South and Southeast Asia. There are around 300 wild elephants in China, mainly surviving in southern Yunnan.
亞洲象是瀕臨滅絕的物種，主要生活在南亞和東南亞。在中國約有300頭野生大象，主要生活在雲南南部。
endangered(adj.)有危險的、瀕臨絕種的species(n.)(單複數同型)物種survive(v.)存活;倖存