雅思阅读文章之环境Japan halt whaling.

　　这篇关于环境的雅思阅读文章来自英国独立报，原题是Japan forced to halt whaling in Antarctic as activists claim victory，主要内容是在激进的环境保护主义者团体经过几个星期的骚扰后，日本被迫停止了每年一次的南极猎鲸活动。而昨天，环境保护主义者们发表声明庆祝这一斗争的胜利。

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　　Environmentalists claimed victory yesterday after Japan halted its annual Antarctic whaling cull following weeks of harassment by a militant conservationist group.

　　The US-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which has been stalking the whaling fleet with their own vessels, claimed that the Japanese ships had managed to harpoon just 30 whales, a fraction of their 945 target. "We&aposve shut them down basically," Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson told The Independent by satellite from aboard the MY Steve Irwin. "It&aposs silly to say they&aposve suspended the hunt. We suspended them."

　　But a spokesman for Japan&aposs Fisheries Agency denied Mr Watson&aposs claims and said it was forced into the move for safety reasons after the whaling crew was put in jeopardy. He declined to say if the suspension was permanent, or if the ships had lt for home. "We are considering several options," said Tatsuya Nakaoku. The whaling expedition set sail on 2 December and was due to return home in March or April.

　　The Antarctic facedown is the latest in a string of confrontations between both sides during the annual cull. Last year, Sea Shepherd&aposs powerboat the Ady Gil, was sliced in two during a collision with the Japanese whaling security ship Shonan Maru II. Pete Bethune, the captain of the Ady Gil, was arrested, tried and given a suspended sentence in a Tokyo court after he boarded the Shonan Maru in protest.

　　The Japanese fleet&aposs annual "scientific whaling" expedition exploits a loophole in the 1986 whaling moratorium to target roughly 1,000 minke, fin and other whales in the Southern Ocean. Conservationists, however, say the hunts are cover for commercial whaling because the whale meat that is not used for study is sold for consumption.

　　Cables leaked last month by Wiki- Leaks revealed that Japan had pressed the US government to target Sea Shepherd as part of a secret deal that could have reduced the cull. The four cables apparently showed US willingness to investigate the NGO status of Sea Shepherd. Senior whaling negotiator, Monica Medina, is reported as saying the group "does not deserve tax exempt status based on their aggressive and harmful actions". Another cable records a Japanese minister calling for "action" against Sea Shepherd&aposs tax status, which, he said, created "a very dangerous situation on the seas".

　　But Sea Shepherd denies endangering the Japanese fleet and says the cat-and-mouse game will continue, despite yesterday&aposs announcement. "They&aposre not taking their ships out of the Southern Ocean, so it could be a ploy to get us to pull away," said Mr Watson.