VOA常速英语2013--山羊获得国会山工作

 

Goats Get a Capitol Hill Job 山羊获得国会山工作 

While members of the U.S. Congress are on vacation this month, work continues around the U.S. Capitol. Not by Congressional aides, though. A herd¹ of goats was set loose in the Historic Congressional Cemetery² to clean up a snarly³ environmental problem.

本月，当美国国会成员们在度假时，国会的工作依旧在进行着。话虽如此，但工作的不是那些国会成员的助手们，一群山羊被放养在历史国会公墓用来解决 个混乱的环境问题。

The goats came to eat. And, they didn’t lose any time, says handler Brian Knox, who owns a company called Eco-Goats.

山羊们来这里吃，它们没有磨蹭。自己经营了一家名叫经济羊公司的管理员Brian Knox说

“They will eat until midnight and get up and eat at three o’clock in the morning and have something else to eat too," said Knox.

“他们会一直吃到午夜然后又起床从凌晨三点钟开始吃，它们也吃其他的一些东西。”Knox说

The Historic Congressional Cemetery dates to 1807.  While it’s not officially connected to Congress, the graveyard⁴ is the final resting place of some 200 Congressmen and their families, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, composer John Philip Sousa and even a circus performer who was killed by a tiger when in town.

历史国会公墓建于1807年，然而它与国会并没有什么正式的关系。在该公墓长眠的有200名国会议员和他们的家人，有美国联邦调查局局长胡佛，音乐作曲家John Philip Sousa甚至还有被老虎杀死的圈内演员。

The goats are here to remove the overgrown thicket⁵ that blocks a view of the Anacostia River on one end of the property, says Paul Williams, president of the Association for the Preservation⁶ of the Historic Congressional Cemetery.   

山羊在这里清除疯长的挡住位于国会公墓一角的安那考斯蒂亚河风景的灌木丛，国会公墓保护协会的主席Paul Williams说。

“We brought in the goats because we have an invasive species problem in our wooded area, not in our burial area. But those vines tend to kill the big mature trees and in turn the trees tend to fall on our historic headstones," said Williams.

“我们把山羊带进公墓来是因为在我们的多木区有严重的物种侵略问题而不是在墓区。但是这些藤蔓可能会杀死成年的树木，相继的树木会落要我们的总统石像上。”Williams说

Williams says that goats are a more ecologically friendly alternative to removing the vines by handcutting, chemicals or heavy equipment.

Williams说，相比于人工割草，化学喷剂或者是大型工具山羊吃草是一个更加环境友好型的选择。

Knox has 60 goats on the job.

Knox有60只山羊在工作。

“So the perfect place to put the goats is where you don’t have anything you want to save, because they are pretty indiscriminant. I refer to them as herbicide with legs," he said.

“所以一个牧羊的好地方是那里没有一个植物是你想要保护的，因为山羊它们可是相当的随意的。我把它们当作是有腿的除草剂。”他说

The animals are confined behind electric and chain link fences to keep them off the actual burial ground, which is neatly⁷ mowed⁸.  Paul Williams says while the goats aggressively consume the vegetation non-stop, they are also attracting visitors to the historic landmark⁹.     

山羊们被用通了电的并用铁链连接起来的栅栏阻挡在已经除过草的墓区之外。Paul Williams说，当山羊们不停的消灭某物的时候，它们也为国会公墓吸引了游客。

“It really is bringing people. We’re treating it as an education program to bring people into this beautiful cemetery," he said.

“它真的在吸引游客来观光，我们把它当作一个教育项目来把游客带进这 个美丽的公墓。”

Holly¹⁰ Howe lives nearby and raced over with sons Quinton, Hollis and Harrison to watch the goats at work.

Holly Howe住在公墓的附近，和儿子Quinton、Hollis和Harrison一起看管那些山羊。

Brian Knox expects his eco-goats to clear the nearly one hectare plot in about a week. By the time Congress gets back in town, they will be long gone and on to another job.

Brian Knox希望他的经济山羊能够在一个礼拜吃掉一公顷的植物。当国会议员们度假回来时，它们早就离开了并且在其他地方工作了。

1 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。

2 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。

3 snarly   

adj.善于嚣叫的；脾气坏的；爱谩骂的；纠缠在一起的

参考例句：

• It was fought in East Main Street in Columbus with a large, snarly nondescript. 这一架是在哥伦布东大街打的，对手是个大膘肥，呲牙咧嘴，是个不伦不类的杂种。 来自辞典例句

4 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

5 thicket   

n.灌木丛，树林

参考例句：

• A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
• We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

6 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

7 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

8 mowed   

v.刈，割( mow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The enemy were mowed down with machine-gun fire. 敌人被机枪的火力扫倒。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Men mowed the wide lawns and seeded them. 人们割了大片草地的草，然后在上面播种。 来自辞典例句

9 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

10 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。