听播客学英语 25 Bootifull!

 　　This podcast is about turkeys. I don’t mean the country Turkey, of course. I mean the big birds that many people eat at Christmas. There is a picture on the website if you want to know what a turkey looks like.

　　A few days ago, the newspapers reported that a man named Bernard Matthews had died. He was 80 years old, and he was the biggest turkey farmer in Britain, and possibly in the world.

　　There is an English expression “a self-made man”. A “self-made man” is someone who starts with nothing and goes on to make a lot of money, or to achieve a lot in some other way, entirely¹ through hard work and enterprise. Bernard Matthews was a “self-made man.” He left school when he was 16 years old, without any formal qualifications. When he was 20, he bought some turkey eggs in a market, and a second-hand² incubator. (An incubator is a device for keeping eggs warm, so that the little birds inside them can hatch.) His career in turkey farming had begun. A few years later, his business had grown and he needed a bigger space to keep his turkeys. He bought an old mansion³ house, Great Witchingham Hall. It was cheap because it was in very bad repair. He and his wife lived in two of the rooms of this enormous house. The turkeys lived in all the other rooms.

　　This is what a turkey looks like!

　　Most families in Britain eat turkey on Christmas day (and cold turkey for about two weeks afterwards!) You may think that this is an old tradition, but it is not. Sixty years ago, turkey was a luxury which only a few people could afford. It was Bernard Matthews who made cheap, frozen turkeys available for ordinary families, and persuaded people to buy them. Then he persuaded them that turkey was not just for Christmas, but for any time of the year. His company started to make other products containing turkey meat, and persuaded people to buy them as well. He became famous by appearing in the TV advertisements for his products. There is a link to one of these advertisements on the website. He told us that his turkey was “bootifull, really bootifull”. (“Bootifull” is how you say “beautiful” in Norfolk, which is where Bernard Matthews lived). People loved his TV adverts⁴, and sales of Bernard Matthews’ turkeys went higher and higher. Today, about one third of all the turkeys sold in Britain are Bernard Matthews’ “bootifull” turkeys. By the time he died, Bernard Matthews was a very wealthy man; and today his company provides work for several thousand people.

　　Bernard Matthews transformed turkey from a luxury which only a few people could enjoy into a food for everyone. Of course, he had to cut the costs of turkey farming, and find ways of rearing turkeys in huge numbers. He perfected what we call “factory farming” of turkeys in which thousands of birds are kept in huge sheds. He bought several old military airfields⁵, and covered them with turkey sheds. He also perfected ways of turning turkey meat into “convenience foods” for busy people.

　　In recent years, people have begun to criticise⁶ “factory farming” methods. They say that the birds are overcrowded and kept in near-darkness; and that they do little except eat and put on weight, until they are about six months old, when they are taken to be slaughtered⁷. The birds require large doses of antibiotics⁸ and other medicines, because they are so crowded. Some of these chemicals remain in the turkey meat, and critics say that this is dangerous for human health. Processed turkey products, like other “fast foods”, often contain water, added chemicals and low-grade meat. They may be cheap, critics say, but they have low value as food, and help to make people overweight.

　　So, what do you think? Are Bernard Matthews’ turkeys really “bootifull”? Leave your comments on the website.

1 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

2 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

3 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

4 adverts   

advertisements 广告，做广告

参考例句：

• the adverts on television 电视广告
• The adverts are not very informative. 这些广告并没有包含太多有用信息。

5 airfields   

n.（较小的无建筑的）飞机场( airfield的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For several days traffic fromthe Naples airfields was partially interrupted. 那不勒斯机场的对外交通部分地停顿了数天。 来自辞典例句
• We have achieved a great amount of destruction at airfields and air bases. 我们已把机场和空军基地大加破坏。 来自辞典例句

6 criticise   

v.批评，评论；非难

参考例句：

• Right and left have much cause to criticise government.左翼和右翼有很多理由批评政府。
• It is not your place to criticise or suggest improvements!提出批评或给予改进建议并不是你的责任！

7 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。