国家地理:牧野分歧(7)

That neighborliness, however, does not extend to APR, which bought its first property in 2004 just south of here. Twice since then, the French family has pitched in to buy ranches¹ that APR was interested in purchasing. "A neighbor wants to help you out, not buy you out," Bill French says.

然而，这种睦邻关系跟美国草原保护区却没什么关系，2004年美国草原保护区在这块地的南部买下第一块土地。在那之后，弗伦奇一家两次出资买下了美国草原保护区有兴趣的牧场。“好的邻居会想给你帮忙，而不是买走你的资产”，比尔·弗伦奇说。

This resistance is based on real concerns about the future. Phillips County has lost more than half its population since its peak of nearly 10,000 people in 1920. Other nearby counties -- APR spans six now -- have seen similar declines. More and more property is being bought up by wealthy, out-of-state owners. The average age of the principal operator of a farm or ranch² these days is 58. It's a demographic spiral that rural Americans fear: fewer kids in the schools, fewer tractors, balers, swathers, post pounders, cars, pickups, semis, trailers, tires bought at local dealers³. APR buys those things too, of course: "We've brought more households in to work for APR than have left as a result of selling to us," says APR senior land acquisition manager Betty Holder⁴. "We believe we are helping⁵ to diversify⁶ the economy."

这种抵制行为是基于对未来真实的担心。菲利普斯县从1920年达到将近10000人的峰值以来，已经失去了将近一半以上的人口。附近其他的县，现在已经有6个，面临着相似的人口减少问题。越来越多的土地被来自其他州的富裕的买主买走。现在农场和牧场的主要管理者的平均年龄是58岁。美国农村人害怕这样的人口螺旋：学生越来越少，拖拉机、打包机、割谷机、邮车、汽车、卡车、半拖车、拖车，还有当地经销商卖出的轮胎也越来越少。美国草原保护区也会购买这些东西。“当然，我们让更多的家庭为保护区工作，而不是因为把农场卖给我们而离开。”保护区的高级土地征收经理贝蒂·霍尔德说。“我们认为我们正在帮助让经济变得多元化。”

But the antipathy⁷ is also cultural. The organization, with roughly 50 employees, is headquartered in Bozeman, a trendy college town of fly fishermen and mountaineers, artisanal coffee and avocado toast, four hours' drive southwest of APR's nearest property. Most of APR's large donors⁸ hail from even farther away -- Silicon⁹ Valley, New York City, Germany. Some fly by helicopter to stay at APR's luxury yurts equipped with leather furniture, chandeliers, and linen¹⁰ tablecloths¹¹. "Big fancy East Coast people coming in and telling us how to live," LaTray says.

这种反感还来自文化层面。这个组织有大约50个雇员，总部设在博兹曼，那是一个时髦的大学城，那里有渔民和登山运动员，手工咖啡和牛油果吐司，到美国草原保护区最近的地方只需往西南方开四个小时。他们大部分的捐赠人都来自更远的地方--硅谷、纽约市和德国。一些人乘直升机来居住在保护区的奢华的圆顶帐篷里，那里装饰着皮革、家具、枝形吊灯和亚麻桌布。“来自东海岸的大人物们告诉我们应当怎样生活。”拉特雷说。

Scientists speak of a landscape's "ecological¹² carrying capacity": habitat, forage¹³, prey¹⁴, and other factors that determine how much wildlife the land can support. But for ambitious conservation projects, "social carrying capacity" -- the community's tolerance¹⁵ for change -- is also a limiting factor.

科学家们提到了景观的生态承载力：栖息地、饲料、猎物和其他的因素会决定这片土地上能生存多少野生动物。但是对野心勃勃的保护机构来说，社会承载力--社会对改变的容忍度--也是一个限制因素。

1 ranches   

大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They hauled feedlot manure from the ranches to fertilize their fields. 他们从牧场的饲养场拖走肥料去肥田。
• Many abandoned ranches are purchased or leased by other poultrymen. 许多被放弃的牧场会由其他家禽监主收买或租用。

2 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

3 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

4 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

7 antipathy   

n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物

参考例句：

• I feel an antipathy against their behaviour.我对他们的行为很反感。
• Some people have an antipathy to cats.有的人讨厌猫。

8 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

10 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

11 tablecloths   

n.桌布，台布( tablecloth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Champagne corks popped, and on lace tablecloths seven-course dinners were laid. 桌上铺着带装饰图案的网织的桌布，上面是七道菜的晚餐。 来自飘（部分）
• At the moment the cause of her concern was a pile of soiled tablecloths. 此刻她关心的事是一堆弄脏了的台布。 来自辞典例句

12 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

13 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

14 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

15 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。