科技动态:让奶牛自己来决定挤奶时间!

A cow in the Netherlands leaving the milking machine, followed in straight away by another having decided¹ itself it was time to be milked. Automatic milking is not new, but this is called the astronaut, its completely automatic system that allows the animal to decide when it wants to be milked. Much like a car wash, the cows' udders are cleaned and located precisely² by laser bean before the machine connects. The manufacturer Lelly says the process removes the stress of waiting to be milked, allowing the cow to take control. Alice Verslus is their marketing³ manager.

生活在荷兰的奶牛抛弃了原来的挤奶机，马上换上了一种能够由它们决定什么时候挤奶的新机器。自动挤奶机并不新鲜，但这款“宇航员”挤奶机可以让奶牛来决定什么时候挤奶。它很像自动洗车台，利用激光束准确定位，先清洁奶牛的乳头，然后开始挤奶。工程师Lelly说，这种流程避免了奶牛等待挤奶时的焦虑情绪，允许奶牛自己控制。Alice Verslus是这种机器的市场经理。

That cow is a very dominant⁴ creature or cows can be very dominant creatures. So you can imagine if there are only two times a day that they can be milked, that there's always a lot of stress to be milked as the first one in the herds⁵.

奶牛是有支配欲的生物，或者说奶牛是有支配欲的种群。因此你可以想象，如果奶牛一天要挤两次奶，它们总会为群体中谁第一个挤奶而承受巨大压力。

The astronaut also checks each animal while it's being milked, so the farmer knows each cow's condition.

这款“宇航员”挤奶机还会检查是否每只奶牛都挤过奶了，这样主人就能知道每只奶牛的情况。

What is crucial for a proper robotic milking management is that you know that the cows are healthy. So it's far more important to have a good, fit, balanced feed management and really spends the time in the herds.

对于一个合理的自动挤奶系统来说最重要的就是保持奶牛的健康情况。因此，优质，维持健康平衡的喂养方法和保证奶牛有时间和同伴待在一起就尤为重要。

The system can be set to alter each animal's feed allocation, depending on productivity and the farmer gets to sleep in.

这套系统可以根据牲畜的产出量来控制喂养情况，不过有时也要看它们的主人睡得怎么样。

Stuart Macdill, Reuters

Stuart Macdill报道，路透社消息。

straight away 马上，即刻

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

3 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

4 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

5 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。