VOA常速英语--国会公墓邀请山羊除草

国会公墓邀请山羊除草

Located near Capitol Hill,Congressional Cemetery¹ is the only American "cemetery of national memory" founded before the Civil War. Those buried there include legendary² FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, famed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady, and many members of the U.S. Congress.

位于国会旁的国会公墓是唯一一座建于内战前的国家陵园。这里埋葬着联邦调查局传奇局长埃德加·胡佛，内战著名摄影家马修·布雷迪，以及诸多国会议员。

In recent years, the cemetery has been overrun by weeds. Officials didn't want to use herbicides because of the nearby Anacostia River.

最近几年，陵园杂草丛生。因靠近阿纳卡斯蒂亚河，政府不想用除草剂清理。

So we are always looking for ways to make sure that we are sustainable, that we are not using pesticides³ that might hurt the environment.

我们一直在寻找可持续发展道路，杀虫剂会破坏环境。

So the cemetery hired goats who embarked⁴ on a non-stop eating binge, as if they were at an all-you-can-eat buffet⁵. They're kept corralled on the cemetery grounds by an electronic fence.

公墓“聘请”山羊除草，它们的脚步从不停歇，这好比是自助餐馆。通过电铁丝网将它们围栏在墓地中。

The goats are owned by Mary Bowen, whose farm runs a company called Browsing⁶ Green Goats. The price tag to clean unwanted vegetation: $4,500 per acre. It sounds expensive, but Bowen says it's about half the price of using herbicides.

山羊主人名叫玛丽·鲍恩，她的农场经营了一家名叫“Browsing Green Goats”的公司。除草价格为每英亩4500美金。听起来很贵，但鲍恩认为这个价钱约除草剂的一半。

The great things about goats: There's no instructions; they don’t take breaks; there's no union; they don't need Sunday afternoon off. They just love eating! The only time they will actually take a break to lay down is to let the vegetation ruminate⁷ in their intestine⁸. Otherwise, they are eating.

山羊的最有利之处就在于：没有指令；它们从不停歇；不会集合；也不需要周日午休。它们就喜欢吃草！它们唯一的休息时间就是躺下等待胃肠蠕动。否则，它们会不停地吃。

Private residents can also hire these goats. Diana Davis and her neighbors employ 35 goats to clean their yards in the Heritage Harbor Community of Annapolis, Maryland.

个人也可以租赁山羊。戴安娜·戴维斯和她的邻居“聘请”了35头山羊，为马里兰州安纳波利的“Heritage Harbor”社区院落“清扫”杂草。

Oh, they are doing a wonderful job. Everybody's thrilled. Because we all know how dense⁹ it was when they came. And, of course, the neighbors keep coming over to see and they are just amazed.

它们太棒了。人们兴奋不已。刚开始杂草丛生。邻居们也会经常光顾，他们非常惊讶。

This is what Bowen was hoping for when she started the project.

这就是鲍恩所希望看到的。

The goats to me give such a sense of community and bring people together for a common good. And that makes me feel very good to be of service.

对于我来说，这些山羊给了我团队意识，人们会为了“共同心愿”在一起。我对这样的服务感到自豪。

 

Bowen checks every day to make sure the electronic fence is working properly; she says she has not lost a single goat in five years. Her hope is that, through this approach, more people can actively¹⁰ take part in protecting the environment, while keeping their property manicured and weed-free.

每天，鲍恩都会检查电铁丝网的情况；她说她5年来没有丢过一只羊。她希望通过山羊会有更多人在除草的同时保护环境。

1 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

2 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

3 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

5 buffet   

n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台

参考例句：

• Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐？
• Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗？

6 browsing   

v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息

参考例句：

• He sits browsing over[through] a book. 他坐着翻阅书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cattle is browsing in the field. 牛正在田里吃草。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 ruminate   

v.反刍；沉思

参考例句：

• It is worth while to ruminate over his remarks.他的话值得玩味。
• The cow began to ruminate after eating up grass.牛吃完草后开始反刍。

8 intestine   

adj.内部的；国内的；n.肠

参考例句：

• This vitamin is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.这种维生素通过小肠壁被吸收。
• The service productivity is the function,including external efficiency,intestine efficiency and capacity efficiency.服务业的生产率是一个包含有外部效率、内部效率和能力效率的函数。

9 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

10 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。