英语听力精选进阶版 14258

World's first lab-grown burger

Summary

5 August 2013

Researchers are unveiling the world's first lab-grown burger in London today. The burger has been grown from stem¹ cells taken from a dead cow. It has cost ￡215,000 to grow but researchers believe the technology will eventually reduce the cost of meat production and meet growing demand.

Reporter:

Pallab Ghosh

Report

Professor Post is developing a way to grow meat in a lab because he believes that livestock² farming is not good for the environment, not good for animals nor, he says, is it going to satisfy the growing demand for meat.

His aim is to produce a burger that looks and tastes just like the real thing but from what I saw at his lab, that is still a work in progress. The flesh, grown from stem cells, is pale white and tasteless, so food technologists have had to mix in breadcrumbs, caramel and saffron to add flavour and beetroot juice to add colour. The mixture is then put together to make the burger that will be cooked and then eaten by two food writers.

Initial³ testing, during the development process, suggests that it won't taste great, but according to Professor Post, it will taste good enough.

1 stem   

n.茎，干，船首，词干，血统；vt.堵住，阻止，抽去梗；vi.起源于，发生

参考例句：

• Cut the stem cleanly,just beneath a leaf joint.把茎切整齐点，正好切在叶根下。
• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。

2 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

3 initial   

adj.最初的，开始的，词首的；n.首字母，姓名的开头字母；vt.标注姓名的首字母于

参考例句：

• After she'd overcome her initial shyness,she became very friendly.她克服了起初的羞怯之后，变得十分友善。
• The experiments have given initial results eventually.那些试验总算初见成效了。