違反天性的雜耍
Suppose that a two-year-old child were torn away from his mother before being brought away to an unfamiliar place, only to be bound with a chain and pierced with a metal hook.
假設有個兩歲小孩被強行從父母身邊帶走，接著被帶往一個完全不認識的地方用鐵鏈拴住，並被鐵釘刺在身上，
假想情境imagine, envision
suppose that假想一個情況，搭配動詞與現在事實相反bind-bound-bound(v.)捆綁be bound to肯定會bound for前往…的pierce(v.)穿刺piercing(adj.)(n.)尖銳刺耳的、耳洞
Would you enjoy seeing any kind of performance by him?
你會忍心看他表演嗎？
Probably not, because of the cruelty involved.
大概不會，對吧，因為很殘忍，
cruelty(n.)殘忍、殘酷brutality(n.)暴行、殘酷inhumanity(n.)野蠻、不人道(that is)involved
But that’s how many young elephants are treated these days, as they are being captured and tamed for tourism purposes in Southeast Asia.
但在東南亞年幼的小象為滿足人類觀光的需要，都這樣被捕捉和馴化。
maltreat(v.)虐待capture(v.)奪取、抓取tame(v.)(adj.)馴化、溫馴的
When elephants were withdrawn from the logging industry in Thailand about three decades ago, many mahouts became unemployed.
約三十年前，泰國的伐木業不再使用大象，造成許多馴象師失業。
log(n.)木材decade(n.)十年mahout(n.)訓象師
It wasn’t long before these elephant handlers turned to the then booming tourism industry for help, and thus began the suffering of these gentle giants.
不久，這些馴象師把眼光轉向當時蓬勃發展的觀光業，也造就了大象們苦難的開端。
turn to開始做（不當之事）resort to訴諸於suffering(n.)痛苦、折磨=misery=agony
Many have been sold to amusement parks where they suffer injuries in the taming process.
許多大象被賣到遊樂園，在被馴化的過程中時常受傷，
where=in which
Photos have been circulating online showing these gigantic creatures with blood running down their heads as well as scars from old wounds.
網路上就流傳許多大象頭部和舊傷口流血的照片。
circulate(v.)循環、流傳wound(n.)傷口
In addition, some elephants (even those at so-called sanctuaries) have to sleep on concrete, chained for many hours at a time and provided with insufficient food.
此外，就算大象被送到收容所，也只能睡在水泥地上，長期被鐵鏈拴住，而且沒有足夠的食物。
sanctuary(n.)庇護所、收容所insufficient(adj.)不足的adequate(adj.)足夠的
Their misery also includes training to perform various tricks and stunts that go against their nature.
大象的悲歌還包含各種違反他們天性的雜耍或特技表演，
stunts(n.)特技stuntman, stuntwoman(n.)特技演員
For instance, in Ban Ta Klang, a village in northeastern Thailand, it is common to see young elephants being forced to throw a ball into a hoop while standing on their hind legs.
在泰國東北邊的小鎮他冬，時常會看到小象被迫以後腳站立，然後把球丟進圈套裡。
Thanks to media coverage, people are increasingly aware of the cruelty of what they once regarded as a unique cultural experience.
媒體報導使人們逐漸意識到這項獨特文化體驗背後的殘酷，
thanks to由於（產生正面結果的理由）、反諷increasingly(adv.)=more and morebe aware of意識到什麼be adv. aware有…意識的be regarded as被視為…=be considered (to be)
Many places have stopped offering elephant rides or performances.
許多景點開始停止提供騎大象服務或是大象表演，
Instead, they advertise the opportunity to feed, groom or bathe the elephants.
改讓遊客餵食大象、替大象梳毛或洗澡。
Harmless as they may seem, these activities could still pose a problem.
這些活動表面看似無害，但仍有可能造成問題。
though S. V. adj.=(as) adj. as S.V.讓步句
“Bathing with elephants...is often stressful for elephants and mahouts, especially when dealing with groups of excited young people,” said Jan Schmidt-Burbach of World Animal Protection.
世界動物保護組織的貝爾巴赫說：「幫大象洗澡的活動會為大象和馴象師帶來很大的壓力，特別是遇到一群很興奮的年輕人的話。」
deal with處理=tackle