适合小型农场的挤奶机器

    This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

    Mike Henry has a two-hectare farm in Palmer, Alaska. About a year and a half ago, his goat Millie was giving him a hard time. She did not want to be milked.
    Mike Henry在阿拉斯加的帕尔姆拥有两公顷农田。大约一年半以前,他的山羊Millie让他度过了一段艰难的日期,因为Millie不想被挤奶。

    She kicked her back legs and stepped into the bucket that was supposed to catch her milk. But there was no milk to catch. All Mike Henry got was tired hands from his attempts to milk her.
    她踢着后腿,走进为她挤奶用的桶内。但是根本没有奶,Mike Henry弄的双手疲劳。

    But he also got an idea. He designed a goat milking machine that does not require any electricity or motors. The Henry Milker is a hand-operated vacuum pump. A person attaches a tube to the goat and, after a little pumping, the milk begins to flow. A gauge measures the pressure of the suction.
    但是他也产生了一个想法。他设计了一种为山羊挤奶的机器,不需要电力或马达。Henry Milker是一种手动操作的真空泵。人工将一个管子连接到山羊身体上,经过抽动后,羊奶开始流出。有一个测量器来测量抽的压力。

    The process uses a closed system to keep hair and dirt out of the milk. The milk goes directly from the goat into a container that is then placed in the refrigerator to keep the milk cold.
    整个过程使用一个密闭的系统,避免空气和污垢进入羊奶。羊奶从山羊体内直接进入容器,容器随后被放入冰箱中冷藏。

    Mike Henry has sold his invention to hundreds of people, mainly small farmers who also hold other jobs -- just as he does. Mr. Henry is an executive director in the Anchorage School District in Alaska.
    Mike Henry已经向数百人出售了他的发明,主要是一些小农场主,他们还有其他的工作要做,像他本人一样。Henry是阿拉斯加安克雷奇校区的行政主管。

    He considered spending more than one thousand dollars for an electric milking machine. But that seemed like a lot of money to milk just one goat. So he began to develop a device of his own. He worked with parts that he bought from an auto supply store and a Wal-Mart store.
    他曾考虑过花费1,000多美元来购买电动挤奶机器。但是仅仅为一只山羊挤奶,这似乎太过昂贵。所以他开始设计自己的设备。他从汽车用品店和沃尔玛超市购买配件来组装。

    He tried the invention on Millie. How did she react? She gave a little milk. As the months passed, he improved the device. Milking Millie became easy. Mike Henry began to think other people who owned just a few goats might be interested in his invention.
    他在Millie身上测试了这项发明。她有什么反应呢?她产了一点奶。几个月之后,他改进了设备。为Millie挤奶变得简单了。Mike Henry开始想,其他只有几只山羊的人可能对他的发明感兴趣。

    So he offered one on eBay, an Internet marketplace. The first one sold for forty-five dollars. Interest grew. Today, he receives orders from as far away as Australia and New Zealand.
    所以,他在电子交易平台eBay上提供了一台来出售。第一台的价格是45美元。今天,他收到远至澳大利亚和新西兰的订单。

    The regular price is one hundred forty-nine dollars. Recently he has offered the system for one hundred nineteen dollars, plus shipping and handling charges, at goatfinder.com.
    普通的价格是149美元。最近,他将价格降低至119美元,加上运费和手续费,可以登录goatfinder.com查看。

    The system is advertised as safe enough for children to use. The ad also says it is not a production milker and not designed to replace commercial machines.
    广告称,这种设备小孩来操作也是安全的。广告还说,这不是挤奶器产品,不是为了取代商业化的机器。

    The average milking time with the Henry Milker is ten minutes. Mike Henry says Millie now gives about two liters in half that time.
    Henry Milker平均的挤奶时间是十分钟。Mike Henry说,现在Millie用一半的时间可以挤出大约2升羊奶。