乳牛能防止野火嗎？ ⏲️ 6分鐘英語：英語精讀講義

6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

來自 bbclearningenglish.com 的6分鐘英語。

Hello,

大家好，

this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

這裡是 BBC Learning English 的6分鐘英語。

I'm Neil.

我是 Neil。

And I'm Beth.

我是 Beth。

Neil,

Neil，

do you remember the children's television show Lassie? 文化背景

你還記得兒童電視節目《靈犬萊西》嗎？

Oh yes,

喔是的，

of course.

當然。

The show's hero was a dog named Lassie,

節目主角是一隻名叫萊西的狗，

and Lassie went round helping people in trouble. 片語搭配

萊西到處幫助遇到困難的人。

Yes.

是的。

Well,

那麼，

if you watched Lassie as a child, 文法

如果你小時候看過《靈犬萊西》，

you might also remember the TV shows Flipper the Dolphin and Skippy the Kangaroo.

你可能還記得電視節目《海豚飛寶》和《袋鼠斯基皮》。

The stars of these shows were animals who would also come to the rescue of humans in trouble. 講解

這些節目的明星也是動物，牠們也會來拯救遇到困難的人類。

In this program,

在本期節目中，

we'll be discussing some real-life animals helping people in trouble. 用詞

我們將討論現實生活中幫助遇難人群的動物。

It might sound strange, 表達脈絡

這聽起來可能很奇怪，

but we'll be hearing how cows are helping to stop fires in Spain.

但我們將聽到牛是如何幫助阻止西班牙森林大火的。

Well,

嗯，

now I have a picture in my head of a cow wearing a fireman's helmet. 慣用語

現在我腦海中浮現出一頭戴著消防員安全帽的牛的畫面。

But I guess that's not what you mean, 語氣意圖

但我猜你不是這個意思，

Neil.

Neil。

Not quite,

不完全是，

Beth.

Beth。

But you're right about the fires,

但關於火災你沒說錯，

or wildfires to be exact. 片語搭配

確切地說是森林大火（野火）。

Wildfires are unplanned fires in areas like forests or grasslands,

森林大火是森林或草原等地區意外發生的火災，

which spread out of control. 片語搭配

且蔓延不受控制。

They often happen in hot,

它們經常發生在炎熱、

dry countries like Spain.

乾燥的國家，比如西班牙。

So,

那麼，

how could cows help?

牛怎麼能幫忙呢？

We'll be finding out and learning some useful new vocabulary as well. 片語動詞

我們將一探究竟，並學習一些有用的新詞彙。

And remember,

記住，

if you like to read along as you listen to the program,

如果你喜歡邊聽節目邊閱讀，

you'll find a script on our website,

你可以在我們的網站上找到逐字稿，

bbclearningenglish.com.

bbclearningenglish.com。

But now,

現在，

I have a question for you,

我有一個問題問你，

Beth.

Beth。

Some wildfires are caused naturally,

有些森林大火是自然引起的，

but most are the result of human activity. 片語搭配

但大多數是人類活動的結果。

So,

那麼，

according to the Natural History Museum of Utah, 片語搭配

根據猶他州自然歷史博物館的數據，

what proportion of wildfires is caused by people? 片語搭配

由人引起的森林大火比例是多少？

Is it A,

是 A，

two out of every five,

五分之二，

B,

B，

three out of every five,

五分之三，

or C,

還是 C，

four out of every five?

五分之四？

I'm going to guess three out of every five, 語氣意圖

我要猜五分之三，

I think.

我想。

Let's find out at the end of the program.

我們將在節目結束時揭曉答案。

Thanks to increasing temperatures caused by climate change, 文法

由於氣候變遷導致氣溫不斷上升，

the wildfires happening today are more intense and more destructive than ever before. 文法

當今發生的森林大火比以往任何時候都更加猛烈、更具破壞性。

Here,

在這裡，

Craig Langran reporter for BBC World Service program People Fixing the World

BBC 世界服務節目《修復世界的人們》記者 Craig Langran

discusses the problem with Pablo Schapira of Rewilding Spain,

與 Rewilding Spain 的 Pablo Schapira 討論這個問題，

an organisation combating wildfires in Central Spain. 用詞

該組織致力於對抗西班牙中部的森林大火。

One of the reasons for this is that the forests have been left to grow unchecked, 講解

原因之一是森林一直在不受控制地生長，

as there simply aren't enough animals to feed on all the trees, 片語動詞

因為根本沒有足夠的動物來吃掉所有的樹木、

bushes,

灌木

and grass.

和草。

And the more dense this vegetation is, 文法

植被越茂密，

the more likely it is to catch fire. 片語搭配

就越容易起火。

When we had the forest in our ecosystems here in Europe,

當我們在歐洲這裡的生態系統裡擁有森林時，

that we had big grazers,

我們有大型草食動物，

we had the bison,

我們有野牛，

we had tauros,

我們有原牛，

we had wild horses,

我們有野馬，

and now they are gone from the ecosystem because of extinction,

而現在牠們因滅絕而從生態系統中消失了，

domestication.

或是被馴化了。

Many European forests have grown unchecked.

許多歐洲森林已經不受控制地生長。

If something is left unchecked,

如果某種事物 unchecked（不受控制地留下），

nobody controls it or prevents it from increasing. 文法

就沒有人控制它或阻止它增加。

The problem is that when trees,

問題在於當樹木、

grass,

草

and vegetation are left to grow,

和植被任其生長時，

they're more likely to catch fire.

它們更容易著火。

Hundreds of years ago,

數百年前，

animals known as grazers would simply have eaten this vegetation up. 講解

被稱為草食動物的動物只需把這些植被吃光即可。

To graze means to eat grass and other wild plants, 用詞

graze 意思是吃草和其他野生植物，

and grazers are the animals,

而 grazers 就是指這樣的動物，

including horses,

包括馬、

cows,

牛

and goats,

和山羊，

which do this.

牠們會這麼做。

In English,

在英語中，

you can also say a person is grazing if they continually eat snacks or little bites of food. 用詞

如果一個人不斷吃零食或小口吃食物，你也可以說他們在 grazing。

But in modern times,

但在現代，

numbers of grazing animals have declined sharply because of extinction, 講解

草食動物的數量因滅絕而急劇下降，

when a species of animal,

即一種動物，

the dinosaurs for example,

例如恐龍，

no longer exist,

不再存在，

and domestication, 用詞

以及馴化，

when wild animals are controlled by humans to work or for food.

即野生動物被人類控制用於勞作或作為食物。

And as numbers of grazing wild animals decrease,

隨著野生草食動物數量減少，

forest and grasslands continue to grow unchecked,

森林和草原繼續不受控制地生長，

leading to the large wildfires which now regularly happen in Spain. 文法

導致了現在西班牙經常發生的大型森林大火。

And that's where our four-legged friends, 慣用語

這就是我們四條腿的朋友，

the cows,

牛，

come to the rescue.

前來救援的地方。

Supported by Rewilding Spain,

在 Rewilding Spain 的支持下，

Pablo has reintroduced herds of tauros, 文化背景

Pablo 重新引進了成群的 tauros，

the species of cow similar to the now extinct wild aurochs, 文化背景

這種牛類似於現已滅絕的野生 aurochs，

the ancestor of the modern domestic cow

即現代家牛的祖先

into the forests of Central Spain.

到西班牙中部的森林裡。

Here's reporter Craig Langran again for BBC World Service program People Fixing the World.

這裡再次請出 BBC 世界服務節目《修復世界的人們》記者 Craig Langran。

Along with the cows' voracious appetite, 用詞

除了牛貪婪的食慾，

they trample the vegetation,

牠們還踐踏植被，

and it's that trampling that helps to open up the forest, 講解

正是這種踐踏有助於打通森林，

so it's not so densely packed full of flammable vegetation. 片語搭配

這樣裡面就不至於密布易燃的植被了。

Tauros eat everything from grass and leaves to tree branches and bark. 文法

Tauros 什麼都吃，從草、樹葉到樹枝和樹皮。

Craig says the cows are voracious,

Craig 說這些牛是 voracious 的，

or very eager for lots of food.

也就是非常渴望大量食物。

What's more, 表達脈絡

此外，

by wandering freely around the forest, 文法

透過在森林裡自由漫遊，

they trample down dead trees, 片語動詞

牠們踩倒了枯樹，

reducing the amount of flammable, 講解

減少了易燃的，

meaning easily burnt,

意思是容易燃燒的，

vegetation.

植被的數量。

They don't wear firemen's helmets,

牠們沒戴消防員安全帽，

but these four-legged fire-fighting friends are really coming to the rescue in Spain. 慣用語

但這些四條腿的消防朋友正在西班牙真正前來救援。

Okay,

好了，

Neil.

Neil。

Isn't it time to reveal the answer to your question? 語氣意圖

是不是該揭曉你問題的答案了？

Yes,

是的，

I asked you what proportion of wildfires are caused by people.

我問你由人類引起的森林大火比例是多少。

And I said three out of five.

我說是五分之三。

Was I right?

我答對了嗎？

I'm afraid you're wrong, 語氣意圖

恐怕你錯了，

Beth.

Beth。

The answer was C.

答案是 C。

According to the Natural History Museum of Utah,

根據猶他州自然歷史博物館的數據，

four out of every five wildfires are manmade. 講解

五分之四的森林大火是人為引起的。

Okay,

好的，

let's recap the vocabulary we've learned from this program, 表達脈絡

讓我們回顧一下從這個節目中學到的詞彙，

starting with the adjective unchecked.

從形容詞 unchecked 開始。

If something harmful is left unchecked,

如果有害事物被 left unchecked，

nobody controls it or prevents it from growing.

就沒人控制它或阻止它增長。

To graze means to eat grass and vegetation.

To graze 意思是吃草和植被。

Grazers are animals like cows which do this.

Grazers 是像牛一樣做這件事的動物。

And a person who grazes continually eats little bites of food.

而一個 graze 的人則不斷小口吃東西。

Extinction is when an animal species no longer exists.

Extinction 是指動物物種不再存在。

The dinosaurs and the wild aurochs are two examples of extinct animals.

恐龍和野生 aurochs 是滅絕動物的兩個例子。

Domestication is when wild animals become controlled by humans for work,

Domestication 是指野生動物受到人類控制，用於勞動、

food,

食物，

or as pets.

或作為寵物。

The adjective voracious means very eager for something,

形容詞 voracious 意思是對某物非常渴望，

especially a lot of food.

尤其指大量的食物。

And finally,

最後，

if something is flammable,

如果某物是 flammable，

it easily burns or catches fire.

它很容易燃燒或著火。

Once again,

再次，

our 6 minutes are up.

我們的6分鐘到了。

If you enjoyed this program,

如果你喜歡這個節目，

why not check out the accompanying worksheet and quiz, 語氣意圖

不妨看看配套的學習單和小測驗，

both available at bbclearningenglish.com.

都在 bbclearningenglish.com 上有提供。

Goodbye.

再見。

Goodbye for now.

暫別了。

6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

來自 bbclearningenglish.com 的6分鐘英語。