ARTICLE · 1112718
听考研真题|2022年英二阅读1:吃这种鸡蛋能够保护环境?
On a recent sunny day, 13,000 chickens roam over Larry Brown’s 40 windswept acres in Shiner, Texas.
【生词】roam vt.& vi.漫游, 漫步
windswept adj.风刮的，被风吹扫的，暴露在风中的
acre n.英亩
【翻译】在近日一个阳光明媚的日子里，13,000 只鸡在拉里·布朗位于德克萨斯州希纳尔市的 40 英亩风吹日晒的农场中自由活动。
Some rest in the shade of a parked car. Others drink water with the cows. This all seems random, but it's by design, part of what the $ 6.1 billion U.S. egg industry bets will be its next big thing: climate-friendly eggs.
【翻译】有些鸡蛋在停放的汽车阴影下静置，有些则与奶牛一同孵化。这一切看似随机，实则经过精心设计——这是美国价值61亿美元的鸡蛋产业所押注的下一个重大方向：打造符合气候标准的鸡蛋。
These eggs, which are making their debut now on shelves for as much as $ 8 a dozen, are still labeled organic and animal-friendly, but they’re also from birds that live on farms using regenerative agriculture--special techniques to cultivate rich soils that can trap greenhouse gases.
【生词】debut n.首次登台，初次露面
regenerative adj.恢复的, 新生的, 再生的, 回热的
trap v.使陷入困境, 卡/夹/绊住, 收集，吸收
【翻译】这些鸡蛋如今首次上市，每打售价高达8美元，虽仍标榜为有机且对动物友好，但其来源禽类均饲养于采用再生农业的农场——这种特殊技术旨在培育富含养分且能固持温室气体的土壤。
Such eggs could be marketed as helping to fight climate change.
【翻译】此类鸡蛋可被宣传为有助于应对气候变化。
“I’m excited about our progress,”says Brown, who harvests eggs for Denver- based Nest Fresh Eggs and is adding more cover crops that draw worms and crickets for the chickens to eat.
【生词】cricket n.蟋蟀
【翻译】“我对我们的进展感到兴奋，”布朗表示。他负责为总部位于丹佛的 Nest Fresh Eggs 公司采收鸡蛋，同时正在增加更多能吸引蚯蚓和蟋蟀的覆盖作物，供鸡只食用。
The birds’waste then fertilizes fields. Such improvements “allow our hens to forage for higher-quality natural feed that will be good for the land, the hens, and the eggs that we supply to our customers.”
【生词】fertilize v.施肥
forage n.牛马饲料, 寻找粮草; vi.搜寻，觅食
【翻译】禽类排泄物随后可为农田提供养分。这些改进“使我们的母鸡能够觅食更高品质的天然饲料，从而有利于土地健康、母鸡福祉以及我们供应给客户的鸡蛋品质”。
The egg industry’s push is the first major test of whether animal products from regenerative farms can become the next premium offering.
【生词】premium n.额外费用, 保险费, 附加费; adj.高昂的, 优质的
【翻译】禽蛋行业的这一推动举措，是对再生型养殖场生产的动物制品能否成为下一代高端产品的首次重大考验。
In barely more than a decade, organic eggs went from being dismissed as a niche product in natural foods stores to being sold at Walmart.
【生词】niche adj.（营销）针对特定客户群的，细分的，专营的
【翻译】在短短十余年间，有机鸡蛋已从天然食品店中被视为一种小众产品，转变为在沃尔玛超市销售。
More recently there were similar doubts about probiotics and plant-based meats, but both have exploded into major supermarket categories.
【生词】probiotics n.益生菌, 促生素或益菌
explode v.爆炸, 突然成为, 推翻
【翻译】最近，关于益生菌与植物基肉类的质疑也相继出现，但这两类产品均已迅速成长为超市中的主力品类。
If the sustainable-egg rollout is successful, it could open the floodgates for regenerative beef, broccoli, and beyond.
【生词】rollout n.首次展示
floodgate n.防洪闸门
【翻译】若可持续鸡蛋项目的推广取得成功，或将为再生牛肉、西兰花及其他相关产品的普及打开大门。
Regenerative products could be a hard sell, because the concept is tough to define quickly, says Julie Stanton, associate professor of agricultural economics at Pennsylvania State University Brandywine.
【翻译】宾夕法尼亚州立大学布兰迪万分校农业经济学副教授朱莉·斯坦顿表示，再生产品可能难以被市场接受，因为这一概念难以快速界定。
Such farming also brings minimal, if any, improvement to the food products (though some producers say their eggs have more protein).
【翻译】这种养殖方式对食品品质的提升也微乎其微（即便有提升的话），尽管部分养殖户称其鸡蛋的蛋白质含量更高。
The industry is betting that the same consumers paying more for premium attributes such as free-range, non-GMO, and pasture-raised eggs will embrace sustainability.
【生词】premium n.额外费用, 保险费, 附加费; adj.高昂的, 优质的
free-range adj.散养的
GMO Genetically Modified Organism 转基因生物
pasture n.牧场，牧草地, ; v.放牧
【翻译】业内人士押注，那些为“散养”、“非转基因”及“牧场养殖”鸡蛋等高端属性支付更高价格的消费者，同样也会接纳可持续发展理念。
Surveys show that younger generations are more concerned about climate change, and some of the success of plant-based meat can be chalked up to shoppers wanting to signal their desire to protect the environment.
【翻译】调查显示，年轻一代对气候变化的关注程度更高，而植物基肉产品取得的部分成功，可归因于消费者希望通过此举表达其保护环境的意愿。
Young adults “really care about the planet,”says John Brunnquell, president of Egg Innovations. “They are absolutely altering the food chain beyond what I think even they understand what they’re doing.”
【翻译】Egg Innovations 总裁约翰·布伦奎尔表示，年轻成年人“真的非常关注地球”，“他们正在彻底改变食物链，这种改变的程度甚至超出了他们对自己所作所为的认知。”
