This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
Chicken feathers are useful, and not just to a chicken. Some go into pillows, coats and other products. But countless chicken feathers go to waste.
鸡毛除了对鸡有益处，还具有很多其他用途。有些被制成枕头、大衣和其他产品，但更多的鸡毛被浪费了。
In the United States, billions of chickens are produced yearly. Most of their feathers are thrown away.
美国每年养殖了数十亿只鸡，大多数的鸡毛都被扔掉。
But instead of being buried in landfills, some feathers could find a future in plastics.
但是，有些鸡毛可以在塑料行业找到未来，而不是被当成垃圾填埋。
Scientists in the Washington area have been working with keratin, the main substance in poultry feathers. One of the products they have developed is a flowerpot. It may look like other flowerpots. But the container breaks down in the earth within one to five years. And as it breaks down, it naturally releases nitrogen into the soil.
华盛顿地区的科学家一直致力于研究角蛋白，这是家禽羽毛中的主要成分。他们开发的产品之一是花盆，它看起来和普通花盆一样，但这种花盆使用一到五年时会在土壤中分解。分解时会在土壤中自然释放出氮元素。
The flowerpots are made by reducing chicken feathers to a powder. Then the powder is formed into pellets and shaped into pots.
这种花盆是由碾碎成颗粒状粉末的鸡毛制成。
The environmentally friendly flowerpot is the work of two researchers. Walter Schmidt is with the Agricultural Research Service, part of the United States Agriculture Department. Masud Huda is with the Horticultural Research Institute, a private organization.
这种环保花盆是两位研究人员的成果。他们是美国农业部下属农业研究局的Walter Schmidt，以及一家私人园艺研究所的Masud Huda。
The institute's research director, Mark Teffeau, says the flowerpot works well for vegetables and small flowering plants like geraniums and impatiens.
该研究所主任Mark Teffeau表示，这种花盆可以很好的用于蔬菜，以及天竺葵和小凤仙花等小型花卉的种植。
Walter Schmidt has been working to find uses for chicken feathers since the nineteen nineties. Progress in two thousand two showed that plastic made from feathers could be formed like other plastics.
自二十世纪九十年代以来，Walter Schmidt就一直致力于研究鸡毛的用途。2002年取得的进展表明，用鸡毛制成的塑料能够像其他塑料一样被塑造。
He says feathers are much stronger and last longer than another plant material, cellulose.
他表示，羽毛非常结实，和另一种植物材料纤维素相比，更加耐用。
WALTER SCHMIDT: "Feathers are about eight times as strong as cellulose. By design, feathers are strong and durable. And the other part about it is if feathers were twice as heavy, or half as strong, then birds couldn't fly."
WALTER SCHMIDT：“羽毛比纤维素结实8倍。按照设计，羽毛非常坚固耐用。而另一方面，如果羽毛比现在再重2倍，或只有现在一半的结实，鸟就飞不起来。
He points out that traditional flowerpots made from petroleum-based plastics can last much longer. But he wonders if there is really a need. He says most flowerpots are never re-used.
他表示，以石油为原料的塑料制成的传统花盆使用时间更长，但他质疑这是否真的需要。他称，大多数花盆从未被重复使用。
WALTER SCHMIDT: "Why would you want a plastic that you use for a year to last for two hundred years? It makes no sense. You want to match the product with the use."
WALTER SCHMIDT：“为什么你会想要一个能使用100年，但你只需要使用1年的塑料制品？这毫无意义。你应该通过用途匹配相应的产品。”
Walter Schmidt and Masud Huda are now adding another chicken product to their flowerpots -- chicken waste. The waste will add more nutrients to the soil as the pot breaks down. The scientists say they hope their flowerpot will be on the market in a year or two.
Walter Schmidt和Masud Huda现在又为他们的花盆增加了另一种来自于鸡的产物 - 鸡粪。当花盆降解时，鸡粪能为土壤提供更多的养分。这两位科学家表示，他们期望这种花盆能在一两年内上市销售。