VOA慢速英语 2007 0612a

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

 
Rabbits in a cage
Rabbits are easy to raise.  The long-eared animals are clean and quiet.  They do not need a lot of room.  And you do not have to spend a lot of money to feed them.  With rabbits, you get a big return from a small investment¹. 

One male and two females³ will produce in a year as many as fifty more rabbits.  That is enough to provide a good supply of meat for a family.  Rabbit meat is high in protein and low in fat. 

You do not have to be a farmer to raise rabbits.  You can raise them in the city. 

There are about sixty different kinds of rabbits.  The ones that produce the most meat from the least amount of feed weigh four and one-half kilograms. 

Rabbit houses are easy to make with wood and wire fencing material.  They do not have to be very big.  But each rabbit must have its own little room in the house.  This is very important.  Each room should be about seventy-five centimeters wide, sixty centimeters high and one meter deep. 

Fencing is used for the sides and floor of the rabbit house.  The holes in the wire fencing should be about one centimeter square.  Wastes from the animals will drop through the holes.  This keeps the rabbit house clean and dry. 

Rabbits need a lot of fresh air and sunlight.  Cover the sides of the rabbit house only to protect it from rain. 

Rabbits eat mostly grass and leaves.  Feeding containers hung on the outside of the house let the rabbits eat whenever they want.  They simply pull the grass and leaves through the holes in the wire. 

Each room should have fresh water.  The water containers should be heavy so the rabbits cannot turn them over.  Or you can tie the containers to the wire. 

One month after mating, female² rabbits give birth to about eight babies.  In two months, a baby rabbit should weigh about two kilograms.  This is big enough to make a meal for a small family. 

Rabbits are also valuable for their fur.  It takes time, skill and money to prepare the fur and skin for use.  If you have only a few rabbits, it probably would be best to let a professional tanner⁴ prepare the fur for you.  Skill is also needed to remove the fur from the rabbit.

But rabbits do not have to be dead to be valuable.  Many people enjoy keeping rabbits as friendly pets.  And rabbit manure⁵ makes an excellent fertilizer⁶.  It can be mixed directly into the soil to improve the growth of vegetables, trees and flowering plants. 

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. 

 

1 investment   

n.投资，投资额；(时间、精力等的)投入

参考例句：

• It took two years before I recouped my investment.我用了两年时间才收回投资。
• The success of the project pivots on investment from abroad.这个工程的成功主要依靠外来投资。

2 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

3 females   

n.雌性动物( female的名词复数 )；女人

参考例句：

• The male birds are more colourful than the females. 这种鸟雄性比雌性更加色彩艳丽。
• The males in the herd protect the females and the young. 兽中的雄性动物保护雌性动物和幼崽。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tanner   

n.制革工人；（英国旧时的）六便士币

参考例句：

• Now you tell me how Bob Tanner done it, Huck." 那么哈克你说说鲍勃 - 唐纳怎么试的吧。” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• The tanner got up and interrupted him. 皮匠站起来，打断了他的话。 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

5 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

6 fertilizer   

n.肥料，化肥

参考例句：

• Fertilizer enriches the soil.肥料使土壤肥沃。
• Get some more fertilizer for the garden.给花园再多施些肥料。