英语听力：自然百科 人类与牛（上）

 This is the animal we see grazing in a field as we drive along the highway. They have a timeless quality as if they have always been with us and we have always known them. In short, we take the cow for granted. John Webster, Professor of Animal Husbandry, veterinarian and author has no doubts about the importance of the cow in human history.

 

"The cow really is perhaps the most useful animal there is. We think of food in the form of meat and milk and cheese and everything produced from milk. In addition to that, the cow of course gives us clothing and shoes from her leather, and over the course of history it's been expected to work, to plough the land, to grow the arable¹ crops and of course her dung makes excellent fuel and excellent fertilizer. You've got fuel, you've got fertilizer, you've clothes, you've got food. What more could you ask?" 

 

A new member joins the extended family of one and a half billion cattle on the planet. Even before it's born, it is welcomed to the highly social herd². Despite big wide set eyes and excellent all-round vision, cattle see only 1/16 as much detail as humans. But they have an excellent sense of smell. In the wild, the calf³ will hide from predators⁴. Its scent⁵ ensures its mother can find it. The bond is formed in the first few vital minutes of life as the mother licks her calf dry, stimulating⁶ its circulation and helping⁷ it to its feet. But this is no wild animal. It is a Holstein Friesian, a domestic dairy breed representing centuries of careful human selection.

 

How did this extraordinary partnership⁸ come into being and why did the lives and fortunes of cows and humans all over the world become so intertwined? The story begins 30,000 years ago. Deep within the earth, the first artists recorded the beginnings of the most important relationship between man and animal the planet has ever witnessed. Some archaeologists think cave paintings like these were created by shaman as magical invocation for a successful hunt. One of the most common images is that of Bos primigenius, the now extinct auroch, the ancestor of the modern cow. Weighing 2,000 pounds with deadly horns, the auroch was a formidable beast. But a single animal could provide the clan⁹ with more meat than they could eat as well as bones, sinew and guts¹⁰ for making weapons, it gave horn and hooves for tools and hide for clothes and shelter. The auroch was the Stone Age supermarket, giving our ancestors everything they needed for survival.

1 arable   

adj.可耕的，适合种植的

参考例句：

• The terrain changed quickly from arable land to desert.那个地带很快就从耕地变成了沙漠。
• Do you know how much arable land has been desolated?你知道什么每年有多少土地荒漠化吗？

2 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

3 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

4 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

6 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

10 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》