2021年经济学人 如何训练奶牛上厕所（2）（在线收听）

The first job was to establish the latrine as the correct place to conduct business.

第一项工作是建立公厕，使其成为排便的正确场所。

Calves were confined to a latrine and rewarded with molasses or crushed barley after peeing in it.

把小牛关在厕所里，小便后给予糖蜜或碾碎的大麦。

Next, they were given the freedom to roam around an alley outside the latrine.

然后，它们可以在厕所外的小巷里自由漫步。

Urinations in the latrine were rewarded; those in the alley were gently punished with a spray of water.

在厕所小便的牛会得到奖励，在巷子里小便的牛会被水轻喷以表惩罚。

Finally, the alley that led to the latrine was extended, to allow the animals to practise self-control for longer, and over a greater distance.

最后，将通向厕所的小巷延伸，使牛能够在更长的时间、更远的距离内练习自我控制小便。

Cows are fairly intelligent animals, and the lessons proved quite effective.

奶牛是相当聪明的动物，结果证明这些训练是十分有效的。

Of the 16 calves enrolled in the training process, 11 were considered successfully toilet-trained by the end of it.

在参加训练的16头小牛中，有11头在训练结束时已经能够成功使用厕所。

Their overall performance, say the researchers, was roughly comparable to that of human children.

研究人员表示，他们的总体表现与人类幼崽大致相当。

The animals managed to pee in the latrine around 77% of the time.

牛儿们在大约77%的时间里都能在厕所里进行小便。

Dr Langbein is optimistic that his methods can be improved further.

朗本博士对此很乐观，他认为这一方法可以再加改进。

One step would be to extend the principle to faeces, which also contains nitrogen, and is another source of nitrous oxide.

其中一步是将这一原理推广应用到粪便。粪便中也含有氮，是一氧化二氮的另一来源。

The effectiveness of the training could be boosted too, perhaps with longer-lasting lessons, or by making adjustments to rewards and punishments.

通过延长训练时间或者调整奖励和惩罚方式，也许训练的有效性也可以得到提高。

He notes that the success rate increased after repositioning the water-sprayer used to punish errant animals.

他注意到，在把用来惩罚误入歧途的小牛的喷水器调整位置后，成功率提高了。

Four out of eight calves were successfully trained before it was moved, compared with seven out of eight afterwards— though the small sample size means this difference is not statistically significant.

在喷水器调整位置前8头小牛中有4头训练成功，而在喷水器调整位置后8头小牛中有7头训练成功。不过样本量较小，这意味着这种差异在统计上并不显著。

More research, as always, is required.

一如既往，需要进行更多的研究。

The next step, says Dr Langbein, is to see if cattle on a working farm can be similarly trained.

朗本博士说，下一步是看看农场里的牛是否能够接受类似训练。

Whether farmers will be keen is another question.

而农场主们是否会对此感兴趣则是另一个问题。

Building toilets and training animals costs time and money, after all.

毕竟，建造厕所和训练牛需要时间和金钱。

But when it comes to climate change, every little helps.

不过，应对气候变化，点滴皆有用。