美国国家公共电台 NPR How Draft Horses Are Helping Upgrade Cell Towers In Wisconsin

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Companies that provide cell phone service race one another to offer the most reliable signals in order to retain customers. Sometimes to do that, they turn to a surprising option to get the job done.

(SOUNDBITE OF HORSE NEIGHING)

INSKEEP: And it's a draft horse in Wisconsin, a horse that is helping¹ a cell phone provider with a big service upgrade. Ann-Elise Henzl of member station WUWM reports.

ANN-ELISE HENZL, BYLINE²: U.S. Cellular³ is updating equipment on about 200 cell towers here in Wisconsin, some of which are served by primitive⁴ access roads. That poses a challenge for CH Coakley, the logistics company coordinating⁵ the upgrades. Jason Agathen has been delivering thousands of pounds of electronics gear sometimes to tricky⁶ locations.

JASON AGATHEN: We actually used a ATV this year for a site that I was on, and it blew the tranny out of it - on one of the hills because we had - the snow was so deep up north.

HENZL: So the company hired Jason Julian who farms in Medford, Wisc. A couple of times a week, Julian load's two to three draft horses into a trailer and drives his pick-up truck to remote cell phone towers. This morning, he's approaching one in the middle of a farmer's field.

JASON JULIAN: Look at the end of the field. Do you see the water shining in the dead furrows⁷ in the end of the field? that tells you how muddy everything is. There's just water sitting.

HENZL: Julian stops on the shoulder of a highway where he leads two Belgian Brabant horses from the trailer. Their names are Hannah and Billings, and they're huge animals with a stocky build, although not quite as large as Clydesdales. Julian's wife Katrina pulls off in her pick-up that's hauling a wooden wagon⁸ with a flat bottom and low sides. The two attach the horses to each other as Julian prepares them to get to work.

JULIAN: I'm getting ready to hook them to the wagon and be ready for the truck to arrive, so when the truck arrives, we have a minimal⁹ amount of downtime to deliver the freight.

HENZL: Soon after, the delivery truck pulls up. Julian hops¹⁰ in the wagon instructing his horse's to back up to the truck. They're accustomed to listening because Julian uses them on his organic dairy farm and in the logging business.

JULIAN: Whoa, gee¹¹, gee, gee, gee...

HENZL: The workers transfer their cargo¹² to Julian's wagon. It's a half dozen boxes each holding an eight-foot antenna¹³. The team then heads to the base of the cell tower. It's not far, but out of reach for the big delivery truck. That would get stuck on this dirt access road.

JULIAN: This is a cake walk for them. They're used to being in the woods with me in thigh-deep snow and mud and have a 1,500-pound log hooked behind them, so this is like a - pretty easy stuff for them.

HENZL: Julians says each load for the cell tower upgrades is usually about 2,000 pounds, heavier than a log, yet not a challenge because most of the sites are on relatively¹⁴ flat terrain¹⁵. Yet, one recent delivery was tougher than the others. It was in a hilly area called West Salem where it took about an hour and a half to make the steep climb to the tower.

JULIAN: And it had constant switchbacks, super steep, just unbelievable terrain. And we made it, and we had to use a piece of firewood actually to block the tires about every 40 or 50 yards towards the top, we'd block the tires and give the horses a breather.

HENZL: Delivery Driver Jason Agathen says he gets a kick out of the fact that horses have proven essential to this project.

AGATHEN: I'm from the city, so I don't get to see a lot of horses to begin with, and seeing what he can do with them - it's amazing to begin with, the control he has. And they've been using horses since the beginning of time, so from way back then to now, it's pretty neat.

HENZL: The company says it won't hesitate to use horses again the next time modern vehicles fail to get the job done. For NPR News, I'm Ann-Elise Henzl in northern Wisconsin.

(SOUNDBITE OF LED ZEPPLIN'S "BLACK MOUNTAIN SIDE")

1 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。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

4 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

5 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

6 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

7 furrows   

n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 )；（脸上的）皱纹v.犁田，开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I could tell from the deep furrows in her forehead that she was very disturbed by the news. 从她额头深深的皱纹上，我可以看出她听了这个消息非常不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dirt bike trails crisscrossed the grassy furrows. 越野摩托车的轮迹纵横交错地布满条条草沟。 来自辞典例句

8 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

9 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

10 hops   

跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• The sparrow crossed the lawn in a series of hops. 那麻雀一蹦一跳地穿过草坪。
• It is brewed from malt and hops. 它用麦精和蛇麻草酿成。

11 gee   

n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转

参考例句：

• Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
• Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇！我们会赚好多钱啦！

12 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

13 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。