美国国家公共电台 NPR--Lambs aren't white and fluffy and other lessons learned at this campus farm

Lambs aren't white and fluffy¹ and other lessons learned at this campus farm

Transcript²

Caitlyn Mercado was doing homework in her dorm around midnight when her phone rang. It was the farm manager who told her to report to the farm immediately: her sheep was going into labor³.

"I saw the first lamb being born and we thought that was it," Mercado says.

"We were packing up. And then my sheep laid down again and we were like, 'She's still going,' So she stood up and then the second one just kind of came out."

Sheep Management is one of the better-known classes at the University of Maryland — so popular they have to limit it to students in the Animal Sciences program. It was the reason Mercado decided⁴ to attend the University of Maryland.

When the lambs are coming, you bolt to the farm

Throughout the semester, each student is paired up and assigned to care for a pregnant ewe.

"You're on call. You have your phone with you at all hours of the night," Sarah Balcom, who taught the class for the last 12 years, said of her students.

There are a few signs that a sheep is about to give birth: they stop eating their grain, separate themselves from the flock and show other signs on their bodies. But it could happen at any hour of the day or night, and many of them will give birth overnight, Balcom says.

"They told me stories of running out of work, running out of a nice meal, waking up in the middle of the night and driving 45 minutes and trying hard not to speed, because you're never quite sure if the cop's going to believe you, that you're going to the birth of your lamb," Balcom says.

"They have run out of tests. They have left social gatherings⁵ to come and see their lambs, but they all absolutely love it."

The syllabus⁶ calls for boots that can withstand an acid wash and coveralls that get washed by the farm

After the lambs are born, students spend the rest of the semester learning the basics of raising them on a farm: giving vaccinations⁷, trimming hooves, checking for parasites⁸ and keeping records.

Mercado said taking the temperature of the animals is a delicate and often challenging maneuver⁹: a thermometer right in the rear end.

"It sounds easy, but when they don't want you to be doing that, then it's a lot harder to dodge¹⁰ when they're trying to kick you or pee on you," Mercado says.

Students always wear gloves while handling the lambs, but Mercado was surprised that the sheep weren't white and fluffy.

"I had never worked with sheep before, so I was expecting them to be really soft. But they are really oily and greasy," says Mercado. "I was not expecting my hand to come back brown from grease."

Learning by doing

Mercado says she felt prepared by the classroom instruction before stepping foot on the farm. For one, she learned to never chase a sheep when taking their measurements. If one was reluctant or running away, just wait until it comes back.

One of Mercado's classmates' lambs got sick from eating too much grain and too little grass. It went blind and had to be bottle fed. One time, Mercado had to feed it.

"For someone who's just going in to work with cute animals and things, you're not expecting these kinds of things to happen," Mercado says. "It took me like over an hour to try and get her to drink barely any milk."

Ellee Noonan-Shueh took the class as a sophomore¹¹ and was most surprised by how much control they needed to exert over the lambs.

"I mean, they're not wild animals. They are domesticated¹², but they still have very much their own free will," Noonan-Shueh says. "You obviously don't want to hurt them or do anything bad, but you're not going to."

Noonan-Shueh says they were assigned cleaning out the lamb quarters after a birth had taken place.

"That can be kind of gross because there's all these placental-like fluids and birth fluids everywhere and it's just mixed with hay and stuff," says Noonan-Shueh.

Classroom learning isn't for everyone ... but raising lambs might be

The hands-on format¹³ makes the class so well-loved.

"I have several learning disabilities and teaching in the classroom by sitting at a desk and taking notes has never been my strong point," said Claire Jennings who took the class last spring as a sophomore and is now a Teaching Assistant.

"I have to adapt and do all sorts of different things in order to be able to process the information. But a lot of the hands-on classes I take, I get it in one go because actually doing something with my hands rather than sitting and trying to retain something just works so much better for me."

Professor Balcom says both the instructors¹⁴ and students get closer with the animals than is typical for a commercial farm.

"At some point we have to kind of start distancing ourselves from them because we are going to sell them some for breeding and some for meat," Balcom said. "And that can be really hard on students whose primary experiences have always been with pets."

1 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

6 syllabus   

n.教学大纲，课程大纲

参考例句：

• Have you got next year's syllabus?你拿到明年的教学大纲了吗？
• We must try to diversify the syllabus to attract more students.我们应该使教学大纲内容多样化，可以多吸引学生。

7 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

9 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

10 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

11 sophomore   

n.大学二年级生；adj.第二年的

参考例句：

• He is in his sophomore year.他在读二年级。
• I'm a college sophomore majoring in English.我是一名英语专业的大二学生。

12 domesticated   

adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

14 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。