动植物相关术语

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

    Today we have a test for you -- a vocabulary quiz. The words are all related to agriculture. We start with two questions about terms for plants.
    今天我们和大家做个词汇测试。这些词汇都是和农业相关。我们从2个和植物相关的问题开始。

    Ready? First question: What do we call a plant that lives only one year or one growing season? That kind of plant is called an annual.
    准备好了吗?第一个问题:我们称生命周期是一年或一个生长季的植物叫作什么?这种植物被称为Annual(一年生或一季生植物)

    You can probably guess the next question. What do we call a plant that produces new growth year after year? Plants that keep growing back are called perennials.
    你可能已猜出了下个问题。我们称生长周期年复一年的植物叫作什么?次年会再生的植物称为Perennials(多年生植物)。

    Now we are going to ask some questions about terms for livestock.
    现在我们将要问到一些与牲畜相关的术语。

    What is another name for a male cow? A bull, right? Well, a "bull" can just mean a male cow that has not had its reproductive organs removed. If the animal was castrated as a calf, the name for it is -- what? The answer: a steer.
    公牛的另一个叫法是什么?Bull,对吗?呃,Bull是指没有被阉割的公牛。如果在还是小牛的时候就被阉割了的公牛称为Steer(阉牛、菜牛)。

    Next question: What is another name for a young cow? That should be easy. We just said it. A young cow is a calf.
    下一个问题:小牛的另一个叫法是什么?这应该很容易,我们直接说出答案吧。小牛又叫做Calf(牛犊)。

    But we have a special name for a young female cow, especially if it has not had a calf yet. What is that name? The answer: a heifer. Maybe you knew that. But can you spell it? This question is just for our radio listeners. Heifer is spelled H-E-I-F-E-R.
    但是,小母牛有个特别的叫法,尤其是在它还没有生牛犊之前。这个叫法是什么呢?答案是:Heifer(小母牛)。你知道这个词怎么拼吗?这个问题只针对我们的听众。Heifer的拼法是H-E-I-F-E-R。

    Cows, like all mammals, produce milk. There is a medical name for this process. What it is? The answer: lactate. Cows lactate for up to ten months.
    奶牛像所有哺乳动物一样能分泌乳汁。这一过程有个医学名称。它是什么呢?答案是:Lactate(产乳)。奶牛产乳长达十个月。

    In milk, the fat rises to the top. But some people do not like to drink milk that way. So there is a process that is used to reduce the size of the fat particles and mix them all through the milk. What is the name of that process? It's called homogenization.
    牛奶中脂肪会浮到表面。但有些人不喜欢喝那种牛奶。因此有一个加工过程能打碎牛奶中的脂肪颗粒并使其与牛奶充分混合。这个过程称作什么?这称为Homogenization(牛奶均质化)。

    Milk can be made into cheese. Some people like cheese made with milk from a sheep. Our next question: What do you call a female sheep? The answer: a ewe, spelled E-W-E.
    牛奶可以制成奶酪。有些人喜欢用羊奶制成的奶酪。我们的下一个问题是:母羊的叫法是什么?答案是:Ewe(母羊),拼法是E-W-E。

    Male sheep have their own name. What is it? Males are called rams.
    公羊也有其叫法。公羊为Rams(公羊)。

    A lamb is a sheep under a year old. But what do you call the meat from a sheep that is over a year old? Then we call it mutton.
    羔羊(Lamb)是指一岁以下的羊。但是,你称取自成羊的羊肉叫作什么?我们称之为Mutton(成羊肉)

    Age also plays a part in terms for horses. For example, a "mare" is generally defined as a female three years or older. But what do you call a female horse that is under three? The answer: a filly.
    年龄在和马相关的术语中扮演着重要角色。例如,Mare通常指3岁或3岁以上的母马。你称3岁以下的母马叫作什么呢?答案是:Filly(母驹、小母马)。

    And the last question: What is the name for a male horse that is under four years old. A young male is a colt.
    最后一个问题:4岁以下的公马称作什么?它称为Colt(马驹、小马)。