《经济学人》双语：如何训练奶牛上厕所
《经济学人》双语：如何训练奶牛上厕所？
文/Irene-自由英语之路
【本篇内容简述】
【Para1】引入：从小狗和人类小孩可以培训讲起，德国的Jan Langbein博士和他的同事们对牛的研究。
【Para2】牛奶温室气体原理：土壤中的细菌反过来将牛尿中的氨转化为氧化亚氮，农业是温室气体的一大来源。在欧盟，畜牧业约占氨排放量的70%。
【Para3】解决难题：博士的研究在《当代生物学》发表，培训奶牛自愿在厕所排便。
【Para4&5】困难和对应策略：需要意识，自我控制，厕所选择，控制肌肉等。因此他开发了一个三阶段，建立厕所，奖励与惩罚，通向厕所的小巷被延伸。
【Para6】训练结果：有效，16头小牛中，11头能够成功地使用厕所。
【Para7】进一步改进：推广到排粪便，持续时间更长，调整奖励和惩罚，成功率提高了。还需进一步研究。
【Para8】结尾与评论：农村的牛和农夫是否接受和愿意是另一个问题。尽管需要时间和金钱，但是应对气候变化也是值得的。
标题：
Farming and the climate
How to toilet train your cow
Another way to fight climate change
农业与气候
如何训练你的奶牛上厕所
应对气候变化的另一种方法
And save the planet at the same time
同时拯救地球
Paragraph 1：
PUPPIES CAN be taught. So can human children, though not for the first couple of years.
小狗可以被驯服。人类的孩子也可以，尽管不是在头几年。
Now, in the hope of fighting climate change, Dr Jan Langbein, of the Fredrich-Loweffler-Institut in Germany, and his colleagues hope they can train cows to use the toilet, too.
现在，为了对抗气候变化，德国Fredrich Loweffler研究所的Jan Langbein博士和他的同事们希望他们也能训练奶牛使用厕所。
Paragraph 2:
Cow urine contains urea, a nitrogen-rich compound that, when broken down by enzymes in cow faeces, is converted into ammonia.
牛尿中含有尿素，这是一种富含氮的化合物，当被牛粪便中的酶分解时，会转化为氨。
Bacteria in the soil, in turn, convert that ammonia into nitrous oxide. Best known as a dental anaesthetic, the stuff is also a potent greenhouse gas.
土壤中的细菌反过来将氨转化为氧化亚氮。最有名的是牙科麻药，这种物质也是一种很强的温室气体。
And agriculture is a big source of it. In the European Union, livestock farming accounts for around 70% of ammonia emissions.
农业是其中的一大来源。在欧盟，畜牧业约占氨排放量的70%。
Paragraph 3:
Collecting and treating cow pee before the ammonia can be produced might, therefore, seem like a good idea.
因此，在产生氨之前收集和处理牛粪似乎是个好主意。
But it has proved difficult in the past without confining the cows to small areas, which is bad for their welfare.
但事实证明，如果不将奶牛限制在小范围内，这在过去是很困难的，这对它们不利。
As Dr Langbein describes in Current Biology, this conundrum could be solved if free-roaming cows could be persuaded to voluntarily relieve themselves in a latrine.
正如Langbein博士在《当代生物学》中所描述的那样，如果能说服自由漫步的奶牛自愿在厕所中排便，这个难题就可以解决。
Paragraph 4:
But going to the loo is a tricky business, says Dr Langbein.
但朗宾博士说，上厕所是一件棘手的事情。
It requires awareness of bladder fullness, self-control to override excretory reflexes, selection of a latrine, and intentional relaxation of the muscles which control the flow of urine.
它需要对膀胱充盈的意识、克服排泄反射的自我控制、选择厕所以及有意放松控制尿液流动的肌肉。
Nevertheless, he has developed a three-stage process to help cows master toilet training.
尽管如此，他开发了一个三阶段的过程来帮助奶牛使用厕所。
Paragraph 5:
The first job was to establish the latrine as the correct place to conduct business. Calves were confined to a latrine and rewarded with molasses or crushed barleyafter peeing in it.
第一项工作是建立厕所作为开展业务的正确场所。小牛被关在厕所里，小便后会得到糖蜜或碾碎的大麦。
Next, they were given the freedom to roam around an alley outside the latrine. Urinations in the latrine were rewarded; those in the alley were gently punished with a spray of water.
接下来，他们可以在厕所外的小巷里自由漫步。在厕所小便可以得到奖励；巷子里的牛则被轻轻地用水喷表示惩罚。
Finally, the alley that led to the latrine was extended, to allow the animals to practise self-control for longer, and over a greater distance.
最后，通向厕所的小巷被延伸，以使动物能够在更长的时间内、更远的距离内练习自我控制。
Paragraph 6:
Cows are fairly intelligent animals, and the lessons proved quite effective.
奶牛是相当聪明的动物，这些训练证明是相当有效的。
Of the 16 calves enrolled in the training process, 11 were considered successfully toilet-trained by the end of it.
在参加训练过程的16头小牛中，11头被认为在训练结束时已能够成功地使用厕所。
Their overall performance, say the researchers, was roughly comparable to that of human children. The animals managed to pee in the latrine around 77% of the time.
研究人员说，他们的总体表现与人类儿童大致相当。这些动物在大约77%的时间里都能在厕所里小便。
Paragraph 7:
Dr Langbein is optimistic that his methods can be improved further. One step would be to extend the principle to faeces, which also contains nitrogen, and is another source of nitrous oxide.
Langbein博士乐观地认为他的方法可以进一步改进。其中一个步骤是将这一原理推广到粪便，因为粪便中也含有氮，是一氧化二氮的另一来源。
The effectiveness of the training could be boosted too, perhaps with longer-lasting lessons, or by making adjustments to rewards and punishments.
培训的有效性也可以提高，也许可以通过持续时间更长的训练，或者通过调整奖励和惩罚。
He notes that the success rate increased after repositioning the water-sprayer used to punish errant animals.
他注意到，在重新安置用于惩罚闲散动物的喷水器后，成功率提高了。
Four out of eight calves were successfully trained before it was moved, compared with seven out of eight afterwards—though the small sample size means this difference is not statistically significant.
八头小牛中有四头在碰水器移动前被训练成功，而八头小牛中有七头在移动后训练成功，尽管样本量较小（因为样本量少意味着这种差异在统计学上不显著）。
More research, as always, is required.
一如既往，需要进行更多的研究。
Paragraph 8:
The next step, says Dr Langbein, is to see if cattle on a working farm can be similarly trained. Whether farmers will be keen is another question.
Langbein博士说，下一步是看看工作农场的牛是否可以接受类似的训练。农民是否会热心训练牛是另一个问题。
Building toilets and training animals costs time and money, after all.
毕竟，建造厕所和训练动物需要时间和金钱。
But when it comes to climate change, every little helps.
但是，应对气候变化，点滴皆有用。
（恭喜读完，本篇词汇量544左右）
原文出自2021年9月18日《The Economist》Science & technology版块。
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路，仅供个人英语学习交流使用。
【重点词汇】（10个）
urea/jri/
n. 尿素
enzyme/enzam/
n. 酶
anaesthetic/nsθetk/
n. 麻醉剂；麻药
conundrum/knndrm/
n. 难题；谜语
latrine/ltrin/
n. 公共厕所
bladder/bld(r)/
n. 膀胱；可充气的囊袋
molasses/mlsz/
n. 糖蜜，糖浆
barley/bɑli/
n. 大麦
errant/ernt/
adj. 不定的；周游的
every little helps
涓涓细流汇成河，点滴皆有用，积少成多
【重点句子】（3个）
It requires awareness of bladder fullness, self-control to override excretory reflexes, selection of a latrine, and intentional relaxation of the muscles which control the flow of urine.
它需要对膀胱充盈的意识、克服排泄反射的自我控制、选择厕所以及有意放松控制尿液流动的肌肉。
Cows are fairly intelligent animals, and the lessons proved quite effective.
奶牛是相当聪明的动物，这些训练证明是相当有效的。
But when it comes to climate change, every little helps.
但是，应对气候变化，点滴皆有用。
【重点词根】（1+4个）
anaesthetic=an-没有，无 + aesthetic感觉的
词根aesthet- 源自希腊语 aisthanesthai "to feel."= feeling, 表示“感觉”，如：
aesthetic/isθetk/adj. 美学的, 审美的, 有美感的
aesthete/isθit/n. 唯美主义者, 审美家
synesthesia/,sns"θiz/ n. 联觉，共感觉
kinesthesia/knsθiz/ n. 肌肉运动知觉，动觉
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