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61 嗅觉灵敏的小猎犬
DATE=7-3-01
TITLE=AGRICULTURE REPORT - Beagle Brigade
BYLINE=George Grow
(Start at 1'00") This is Bill White with the VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT.
Diseases, insects and animals all can threaten agriculture. Often the threat of attack comes from foreign (1) organisms. The United States Department of Agriculture has many ways to protect American agriculture. One of such methods is the (2) Beagle (3) Brigade.
The Beagle Brigade is a group of (4) non-aggressive dogs and their human partners. The dogs work with (5) U-S-D-A inspectors and (6) X-ray equipment to prevent the (7) entry of (8) banned agricultural products into the United States. They search travelers' (9) belongings for banned fruits, plants and meat that could carry harmful organisms.
All dogs have noses that are well built for smelling. Their noses are designed to receive and (10) trap smells.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service chose beagles for use at airports for several reasons. Beagles are (11) intelligent and active dogs. They are (12) loyal and obey orders. American officials have found that most beagles will remain calm in crowded, noisy areas. They also are (13) gentle with people. And they have an excellent sense of smell.
Experts say beagles can (14) identify smells so weak that even modern scientific technology could not measure them. Beagles also have an excellent (15) ability to identify differences among smells. The part of a dog's brain that receives messages from the (16) nerves of the nose is highly developed. This area can store information the way a computer does.
The Agriculture Department established its program with dogs in Nineteen-Eighty-Four. At first, different kinds of dogs were used. Then officials worked with the armed (17) forces in (18) Texas to train Beagle Brigade teams. In Nineteen-Eighty-Seven, the Department opened three training centers and began training its own teams.
Now the Beagle Brigade has more than fifty teams at twenty-one international airports. More teams are being added. Plans are being made to (19) deploy teams along the American border with (20) Mexico. Plans also call for the use of dogs at some mail centers.
U-S-D-A officials also have provided help to agriculture officials in other countries who want to start their own dog programs. Officials in Australia, Canada, (21) Guatemala, Mexico, New Zealand and (22) South Korea have asked for help.
This VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT was written by George Grow. And this is Bill White.
(1) organism [ 5C:^EnizEm ] n.生物体, 有机体
(2) beagle [ 5bi:^l ] n.(一种猎兔用)小猎犬
(3) brigade [brI5^eId] n.旅
(4) aggressive [`nQnE5^resiv ] adj.好斗的, 敢作敢为的, 有闯劲的, 侵略
(5) USDA abbr.United States Department of Agriculture 美国农业部
(6) x-ray [5eksreI] n.X光照片 vt.照X光
(7) entry [ 5entri ] n.登录, 条目, 进入, 入口
(8) ban [ bB:n ] n.禁令 vt.禁止, 取缔(书刊等)
(9) belongings [bI5lRNINz] n.财产, 所有物, 相关事物, 亲戚
(10) trap [ trAp ] n.圈套, 陷阱, 诡计vi.设圈套, 设陷阱 vt.诱捕, 诱骗,
(11) intelligent [ in5telidVEnt ] adj.聪明的, 伶俐的, 有才智的, [计]智
(12) loyal [ 5lCiEl ] adj.忠诚的, 忠心的
(13) gentle [ 5dVentl ] adj.温和的, 文雅的
(14) identify [ ai5dentifai ] vt.识别, 鉴别, 把...和...看成一样 v.确定
(15) ability [ E5biliti ] n.能力, 才干
(16) nerve [ nE:v ] n.神经, 胆量, 勇气, 叶脉 vt.鼓起勇气
(17) force [ fC:s ] n.力量, 武力, 精力, 魄力, 势力, 暴力, [复]军队,
(18) Texas [ 5teksEs ] n.德克萨斯州(美国州名)
(19) deploy [ di5plCi ] v.展开, 配置
(20) Mexico [5meksIkEJ] n.墨西哥(拉丁美洲国家)
(21) Guatemala [ 7^wAti5mB:lE ] n.危地马拉(拉丁美洲), 危地马拉人
(22) South Korea n.韩国
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