VOA慢速英语-Agriculture Report - Poultry Farms With Unhappy Neig

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
　
University of Delaware scientists say trees can reduce emissions¹ of dust, ammonia and odor from poultry² farms

Planting trees around poultry farms can improve air and water quality -- and please the noses of neighbors.

Scientists have shown that just three rows of trees near poultry houses can reduce the release of dust and ammonia. Trees can also reduce the strong odor of ammonia gas.

The trees capture dust, ammonia and odors in their leaves. They can also reduce energy use. They provide shade from the sun, reducing cooling costs in summer. And they act as a windbreak, reducing heating costs in winter.

Scientists say the trees can also improve water quality around farms by removing pollutants³ from soil and groundwater.

Several years ago, in the eastern United States, people were objecting to the odor of poultry farms on the Delmarva Peninsula. Delmarva is where the states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia come together. Each of the two thousand farms there can house an average of seventy-five thousand chickens.

Traditionally the farms used windows to provide fresh air in the chicken houses. Farmers rarely planted trees or tall crops around the buildings, so there would be no barrier to the airflow.

But then farms began to use new ventilation systems. Instead of windows, the new systems used tunnel fans to circulate air. The fans directed airflow from the poultry houses toward the homes of neighbors.

A team led by George Malone at the University of Delaware began dealing⁴ with the problem in the year two thousand. The team recently presented a report at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C.

Over a period of six years, the scientists found that planting three rows of trees reduced total dust and ammonia by more than half. And they say the trees reduced odors by eighteen percent.

For the first row nearest the fans, they generally suggest using trees that lose their leaves in the fall or trees with waxy⁵ leaf surfaces. They suggest evergreen⁶ trees for the other two rows. Some trees work better than others. And what works in one area of the country may not work as well in other places.

Farmers may think trees will take too long to grow to be effective. But some trees can grow as fast as three meters a year.

Today, one-third of the Delmarva farms have planted trees, technically⁷ known as vegetative environmental buffers⁸. These buffers can offer a way to cut pollution, save money and make the neighbors happy.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Jim Tedder⁹.

 

1 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。

2 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

3 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 waxy   

adj.苍白的；光滑的

参考例句：

• Choose small waxy potatoes for the salad.选些个头小、表皮光滑的土豆做色拉。
• The waxy oil keeps ears from getting too dry.这些蜡状耳油可以保持耳朵不会太干燥。

6 evergreen   

n.常青树；adj.四季常青的

参考例句：

• Some trees are evergreen;they are called evergreen.有的树是常青的，被叫做常青树。
• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。

7 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

8 buffers   

起缓冲作用的人（或物）( buffer的名词复数 )； 缓冲器； 减震器； 愚蠢老头

参考例句：

• To allocate and schedule the use of buffers. 分配和计划缓冲器的使用。
• Number of times the stream has paused due to insufficient stream buffers. 由于流缓冲区不足导致流程暂停的次数。

9 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网