VOA常速英语2016--四只山羊兄弟来布鲁克林执行任务（在线收听）

Four Brother Goats Arrive in Brooklyn on a Mission 四只山羊兄弟来布鲁克林执行任务

There is the old saying that areas in decline are “going to the dogs.” It seems parts of Brooklyn, New York, are going to the goats — a small herd of goats, to be exact.

The caprine (the scientific term for goat) team is on a mission. Unlike gas-powered mowing equipment, goats remove invasive weeds quietly and without adding more pollution to the air. If this goat gardener program proves successful, it will be extended to other areas of the state.

In Brooklyn Bridge Park, four Nubian goats are busy doing the job they were hired to do this summer: clearing the park of weeds.

在布鲁克林大桥公园，四只努比亚山羊正忙着做它们这个夏天被雇佣而来要做的工作：眉毛、赫克托、霍雷肖和米妮正清理公园的野草。

“These are young goats, they’re adolescents,and they are hungry all the time, so they were the perfect goats for this project. They select out the weeds from the grasses. They don’t like the grasses as much as they like the weeds.”

“它们都是年轻的山羊，正值青少年时期，总是会饥饿，因此他们是这个项目所需要的完美山羊。它们从青草中挑选出野草。相比野草，它们没那么喜欢青草。”

The goats are also naturally fertilizing the park, which was built as a buffer zone between the residential area and the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.

这些山羊也可以自然地给公园施肥，这一公园修建在居民区和布鲁克林皇后高速公路之间作为缓冲区。

“We are an organic park, we don’t use synthetic herbicides. So that wasn’t an option. So goats were really the most logical and adorable and fun option for us, in reality.”

“我们是一个有机公园，因此我们不会使用人造的除草剂。那不是一个选择。对于我们来说，实际上，山羊确实是最符合常理而且可爱又有趣的选择。”

The goat option makes sense to many of the neighbors.

对于周边大多数居民来说，山羊的选择是很有意义的。

“New York City in general has a huge lead problem, and there is a lot of pollution in the dirt. So finding a more natural way to get rid of waste is always a step in the right direction.”

“纽约大致来说有着很严重的铅污染问题，而且在灰尘中也有许多污染物。因此找到一个更为自然的方式来减少废弃物一直是朝着正确方向迈进的一步。”

“It’s probably unusual, but it’s nice. It’s a good idea because they have this idea of being an eco-friendly surrounding, so it makes sense.”

“这可能很不常见，但是却很不错。这是一个很好的点子，因为这个点子可以保持生态友好的居住周边，所以可以接受。”

Each goat eats about 23 kilograms (50 pounds) of weeds a day, which makes them effective landscape managers.

每一只山羊每天可以吃掉23公斤（50磅）的野草，这让他们成为有效的景观维护经理。

And although it’s tempting since they’re so cute, residents are advised not to feed the goats, so they can be hungry enough to do their job.

尽管因为它们很可爱，总是忍不住要给它们喂食，但是建议居民们不要给它们喂食，因而它们能够留有肚子来完成它们的工作。