托福阅读背景材料之“素食拯救地球”

 　　随着生产水平的提高，吃肉已不再是一件奢侈的事。但是有科学报告称吃肉不利于环保，对此一位英国人著书提出了自己的观点。下面，我们就来看今天的托福阅读材料：吃肉与环保。

　　In a new book, British farmer and former editor Simon Fairlie says eating meat in moderation may be good for the environment。

　　Countless¹ studies claim that eating meat harms the planet and contributes to global warming. The U.N.'s 2006 Food and Agriculture Organization report states that meat produces 18% of the world's carbon emissions² —more than the global transport infrastructure³. But in his new book, Meat: A Benign⁴ Extravagance, Simon Fairlie, a British farmer and former editor of the Ecologist magazine, tears apart the theory that being carnivorous is bad for the planet —and says that eating moderate amounts of meat could be greener than going vegan.

　　Simon Fairlie 是英国的一个农场主，曾是《生态学家》杂志的编辑，在一本新书中他介绍道食用食量的肉类有益于环境。

　　无数的研究都表明吃肉危害地球，推动了全球变暖。联合国粮农组织2006年的报告称肉类生产时的碳排放量达到了世界总量的18%，这比全球基础交通运输的碳排量还要高。但是在这本书中，肉类被称为良性奢侈品，Simon Fairlie反对食肉有害于地球这种观点，并且认为食用适量的肉类比素食更环保。

　　Why is livestock⁵ beneficial to the environment rather than being bad for the planet. ?

　　Every agricultural system produces a surplus of waste and hard-to-use biomass that is best kept in the food chain by feeding it to livestock. Meat or dairy produced this way has little extra environmental impact. Animals kept on small farms also produce benefits, such as fending⁶ off predators⁷ and pests and fertilizing⁸ soil.

　　为何牲畜对地球有利而不是有害?

　　每一次的农耕都会有剩余的废物遗留下来，这些东西也很难加以利用，却可以用来饲养牲畜，形成最好的食物链。以这种方式生产出来的肉类和奶制品对环境几乎没有额外的影响。小农场饲养的动物也可以产生效益，比如说可以抵御其他的捕食动物和害虫以及提高土壤肥力。

　　What are the most sustainable types of meat to eat?

　　Pigs fed off food waste, whey and other forms of garden and agricultural waste. Dairy cows that are eating grass and clover as part of mixed-arable rotation⁹. They have very little toll¹⁰ on the environment and are, on balance, benign. The way forward is to switch to organic farming. We would have to cut meat consumption by half, but our dairy intake¹¹ would remain about the same.

　　比较实惠的能吃的肉类是?

　　猪是以食品废物，乳清和其他的农业废品为主食的。奶牛主要是吃草和混合农耕中的车轴草。这对环境几乎没有任何的损失，总体来讲是有利的。以后将会转向至有机农耕，我们肉类的消费量将会减少一半，而奶制品的摄入将维持在现在的数量。

　　Notes1. In moderation: 适度地，有节制的2. Contribute to: help to cause sth 促成某事物:

　　Does smoking contribute to lung cancer? 吸烟会导致肺癌吗?

　　3. Food and Agriculture Organization 联合国粮农组织4. moderate:(量﹑强度﹑质等)中等的, 适度的moderate price increases 适度的涨价5. beneficial：~ (to sth/sb) having a helpful or useful effect; advantageous¹² 有益的; 有用的; 有好处的a beneficial result, influence, etc 有益的结果﹑ 影响等Fresh air is beneficial to one's health. 新鲜空气有益於健康.

1 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

2 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

5 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。

6 fending   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的现在分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He is always spending his time fending with the neighbors. 他总是与邻里们吵架。 来自互联网
• Fifth, it is to build safeguarding system and enhance the competence in fending off the risk. 五是建立政策保障体系，提高防范和抵御风险的能力。 来自互联网

7 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 fertilizing   

v.施肥( fertilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Sometimes the preliminary step must be taken of reducing weed population before fertilizing. 有时候，在施肥之前，必须采取减少杂草密度的预备性步骤。 来自辞典例句
• The self fertilizing garden can also be planted in raised beds. 自我施肥的菜园也可以在苗圃床中种植。 来自互联网

9 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

10 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

11 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

12 advantageous   

adj.有利的；有帮助的

参考例句：

• Injections of vitamin C are obviously advantageous.注射维生素C显然是有利的。
• You're in a very advantageous position.你处于非常有利的地位。