4-鸡肉为何如此受欢迎

Ruling the roost

Ruling 统治的 统治

Roost 栖木，鸡棚

Ruling the roost 当家做主

 

 

How chicken became the rich world’s most popular meat

 

the rich world富裕国家

 

In a shed on a poultry farm just outside Colchester, in south-east England, thousands of chickens sit on piles of their own excrement. The facilities will not be cleaned until after the birds are killed, meaning they suffer from ammonia burns and struggle to grow feathers. Ants and maggots crawl over the bodies of those that have not made it to slaughter. The chicken industry is a dirty business, but it is also a profitable one. In the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries, pork and beef consumption has remained unchanged since 1990. Chicken consumption has grown by 70%.

 

shed 棚，库

poultry farm 家禽饲养所

excrement 排泄物（粪便）

piles of 一大批

facility 设备

suffer from

ammonia burns 氨烧伤

ammonia 氨

burns 烧伤

feathers 羽毛

Ants 蚂蚁( ant的名词复数 )

maggots 幼虫 蛆虫

crawl 爬行

slaughter屠宰（动物）

the bodies of 尸体

dirty 肮脏的; 恶劣的; 卑劣的; 下流的

 

those that have not made it to slaughter

make it to 赶上，到达，及时赶上

profitable 有利可图的，有益的

OECD：Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development经济合作与发展组织

Co-operation合作

pork 猪肉

consumption 消费

remained  留下( remain的过去式和过去分词 )

 

 

Humans gobble so many chickens that the birds now count for 23bn of the 30bn land animals living on farms. According to a recent paper by Carys Bennett at the University of Leicester and colleagues, the total mass of farmed chickens exceeds that of all other birds on the planet combined. In London, some 50 miles west of Colchester, fried-chicken shops are ubiquitous. Many are named after American states (including Kansas and Montana, not to mention Kentucky). But schoolchildren and latenight partiers are unfazed by the strange names. Nor do they worry much about where their meal came from.

 

gobble 狼吞虎咽地吃,贪食

count 总数

According to根据，按照

paper 论文

colleagues同事，同僚( colleague的名词复数 )

the total mass of 总质量

farmed chickens 养鸡

exceeds 超过  胜过

combined 结合 联合

fried 油炸的 油煎的(fry的过去分词)

some 50 miles  大约50米

ubiquitous无所不在的

states  国家，州

latenight partiers  晚党

unfazed 不担忧的 不苦恼的

strange 奇怪的

 

Nor do they worry much about where their meal came from.

Nor放句首变倒装句

 

 

 

 

 

 

And why should they? Chicken is cheap and delicious. A pound of poultry in America now costs $1.92, a fall of $1.71 since 1960 (after adjusting for inflation). Meanwhile the price of beef has fallen by $1.17 a pound to $5.80.

 

poultry 家畜

a fall of 跌落

adjusting  调节

inflation  通货膨胀  夸张

 

 

 

Fans of cheap chicken have selective breeding to thank. In the 1940s America launched a series of “Chicken of Tomorrow” competitions for farmers. The aim, as正如 described by a newspaper at the time, was to produce “one bird chunky enough for the whole family—a chicken with breast meat so thick you can carve it into steaks, with drumsticks that contain a minimum of bone buried in layers of juicy dark meat, all costing less instead of more.” The result was something along the lines of the modern broiler chicken.

 

Fans  迷

selective breeding  选择性育种

launched  推出

chunky  矮胖的 粗短的

carve it into  切成

thick 厚  浓密

breast  胸部  胸腹

steak 牛排 肉排

drumsticks  鸡腿形的东西(鸡腿)

buried(bury)埋葬  埋藏

juicy 多汁的 报酬多的

instead of  而不是

broiler烤焙用具；酷热的日子；烤肉

broiler chicken  肉鸡

 

 

 

 

 

Since then chickens have continued to get bigger. A study by Martin Zuidhof of the University of Alberta and colleagues documented this shift by comparing chickens that were selectively bred in 1957, 1978 and 2005. The authors found that at 56 days old the three birds had average weights of 0.9kg, 1.8kg and 4.2kg. As（因为） raising a single big bird is more efficient than raising two smaller ones, it now takes farmers just 1.3kg of grain to produce 1kg of chicken, down低于 from 20 .5kg of grain in 1985.

 

Since then  从那以后

selectively bred  生育  繁殖

documented this shift  证明了这一转变

At 10 days old  10天大的时候

at...old中间只能加天和月吗?比如有ten days old,at four months old 但是可以用at ten years old？

介词at一般表示的是--点--的概念，意思就是比较小的,易于浓缩的

天和月,相对年来说,范围狭小的多,at更适合这样的-----小时间----的表达

 

weights of  重....

start from scratch  白手起家  从头再来

Author 著作家

efficient 有效率的

raising a single big bird  v.养育，唤起（evoke）

1. 提高，增加

  

grain 谷物，粮食

it now takes farmers just 1.3kg of grain to produce 1kg of chicken

It,形式主语，真正的主语是to produce 1kg of chicken

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The intense use of antibiotics means that farmers no longer need to spend much time worrying about their chickens’ welfare. Before the second world war, most birds were raised on small plots. Farmers kept hens for eggs and sold their meat when they got too old to lay any more. But prophylactics have allowed farmers to pack chickens into conditions that would once have been considered unthinkably cramped and dirty. Birds raised in denser quarters do not move around much, and so require less to eat.

 

intense use of 大量使用

antibiotics （用作复数）抗生素

no longer 不再

Welfare 福利

raised 饲养

plot小块地

sold 卖，售，销( sell的过去式和过去分词 )

kept  keep的过去式

prophylactic 预防剂

pack chickens into conditions

pack ... into 打包...进

Unthinkably

unthinkable无法想象的

cramped 狭窄的

dirty恶劣的

denser quarters密集的地方

denser 密集的( dense的比较级 )

quarters住处，岗位 ，四分之一

 

 

 

Farmers have also benefited from the healthy reputation of chicken. In the 1980s doctors worried that by eating too much beef and pork people were ingesting lots of saturated fat, which was then thought to increase the risk of heart disease. Those fears have since waned, but new evidence suggests that red meat might increase people’s chances of getting colon cancer. In contrast, poultry’s image as a healthy meat survives unscathed.

 

reputation 名气，名声

pork 猪肉

ingest获取 摄入

saturated fat（来自肉类和乳类的）饱和脂肪

waned衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )

colon cancer[医]结肠癌

colon 结肠

In contrast相比之下

contrast对比，对照

poultry〈集合词〉家禽

poultry’s image家禽形象

unscathed未受损伤的

scathed<诗>伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的过去式和过去分词 )

 

 

It is not just fussy Western eaters who increasingly favour chicken. Rising incomes mean that demand for the meat is growing even faster in poorer countries. As a result, chickens are now the world’s most widely traded meat. In economic terms they are, in effect, the opposite of cars. They are produced whole. But their value is maximised once they are broken up.

 

fussy 大惊小怪的，难取悦的; 易烦恼的，挑剔的

eater 吃客

increasingly favour

Favour  n.帮助

       v. 喜爱

demand for要求…

As a result结果， 因此

traded 交易，经商( trade的过去式和过去分词 )

In economic terms在经济方面

in effect实际上，事实上

maximised 性能最优化

broken up 溃破

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though Westerners prefer lean, white meat; many in Asia and Africa prefer dark meat, which includes legs and thighs. These preferences are reflected in local prices: in America breasts are 88% more expensive than legs; in Indonesia they are 12% cheaper. Differences in the price of chicken feet are even starker. The thought of eating talons is abhorrent to many Westerners, but they often feature in Cantonese recipes. China now imports 300,000 tonnes of “phoenix claws” every year.

 

lean瘦的

thigh大腿

These preferences 这些优惠

breasts 胸肉( breast的名词复数 )

starker（指区别）明显的( stark的比较级 )

talons （尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )

abhorrent 令人厌恶的

feature in （使）在…中起重要作用

recipes食谱; 烹饪法( recipe的名词复数 ); 方法; 秘诀;

import进口，进口商品

tonnes 吨，公吨( tonne的名词复数 )

claws爪

phoenix 凤凰，长生鸟

 

 

The fact that different countries specialize in different kinds of production also boosts trade. America and Brazil, the world’s two biggest chicken exporters, are agricultural powerhouses that grow huge amounts of feed, the main cost in poultry production. Thailand and China, in contrast, dominate the processed-meat market which requires cheap, skilled labour. Russia and Ukraine, once net importers of chicken, have become net exporters as（随着） their grain industries have grown.

 

specialize in专攻，精通，以…为专业

boost增加; 促进，提高; 

exporter出口商

agricultural 农业的，耕种的

powerhouses 强大的集团[组织]( powerhouse的名词复数 )

poultry 〈集合词〉家禽

in contrast 相比之下

dominate 支配，影响

processed加工过的，经加工的

process过程

skilled labour[法] 熟练工人

net exporters 净出口国     net   adj.净的; 净得的; 最后的;   n.网

net importers 净进口国

grain industries 粮食产业

grown  adj.成年的，成熟的    verb. 种植(grow的过去分词); 生长，变成

Producers that sell their meat abroad expose themselves to risks. Chicken has been a flashpoint in trade negotiations. China imposed tariffs on American birds in 2010 and then banned all imports in 2015, shortly after an outbreak of avian flu. Industry observers are pessimistic the ban will be lifted, much to the dismay of American farmers who would love to be paid more for the 20bn chicken feet they produce every year, which currently become animal feed.

 

Producers 生产者，制造者( producer的名词复数 )

expose 揭露，揭发

flashpoint （尤指政治动乱的）爆发点

negotiations协商( negotiation的名词复数 )

tariff 关税

Impose ... on  强加

outbreak （战争，怒气等的）爆发

avian flu禽流感

avian 鸟的，鸟类的

pessimistic 悲观的，厌世的

observers 观察者( observer的名词复数 )

lifted举起，抬起( lift的过去式和过去分词 ); 提高; 运送; 解除

to the dismay of  sb. 令...沮丧

dismay   使惊愕，使焦虑，使气馁

To one’s dismay 使人沮丧的

Love to do sth. 乐意做某事

paid   adj.付费的; 有报酬的; 领取报酬的;  n. 付款; 有利可图

currently 当前，目前

feed

vt.	喂养; 满足（欲望等）; 向…提供; 供…作食物;

 

vi.	吃，以…为食; 流入，注入，进入（如油流入机器）; [电子学] 馈入;

 

n.	饲料（尤指粗饲料），施肥; 喂送; 草料; （尤指向地方性电视台） 馈送电视节目

 

 

 

 

Similarly, the European Union banned the import of chlorinated American chicken in 1997, owing to concern that a chlorine wash allows lower hygiene standards in farms. Arguments over chlorinated chickens also proved a big stumbling block in negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a now-failed trade deal between America and the EU. Some Britons fear that if they leave the EU any trade deal signed with America would require them to accept imports of such chickens.

 

Similarly相似地

chlorinated   adj.绿色的;   v.使氯发生作用，用氯消毒( chlorinate的过去式和过去分词 );

owing to 由于，因为

chlorine [化]氯

hygiene standards 卫生hygienism标准      卫生，卫生学; 保健法

Arguments 争论( argument的名词复数 )

stumbling block障碍物，绊脚石

Stumbling 

adj.	摇摇晃晃或跌跌撞撞的;
v.	绊脚; （不顺畅地） 说( stumble的现在分词 ); 跌跌撞撞地走; （说话、演奏等） 出错;

stumble跌跌撞撞地走，蹒跚

 

block    v.阻止; 阻塞; 限制;    n.块; 街区; <英>大楼，大厦; 障碍物，阻碍;

Investment 投资，投资额

Partnership伙伴关系

leave the EU 脱欧  leave 离开

trade deal 贸易协议

signed with 与...签署

require 要求

 

Although the chicken boom has been good for consumers, animal-welfare advocates worry that the meat industry’s costcutting measures have come at the expense of the birds. Vicky Bond of the Humane League, an animal-welfare campaign group, says the size of modern chickens is the cause of the worst problems. Broilers have breast muscles which are too big for their bones to support, leading to lameness. In Colchester the chickens are so unresponsive to humans that they resemble zombies. Indeed, modern chickens have become so big that their muscles prevent them from getting on top of each other to mate (meaning they have to be starved before they are able to consider romance).

 

 

boom  vi.（不及物动词）发出隆隆声; 快速发展; 暴涨;

       Vt.（及物动词）使繁荣; 使迅速发展

       N.繁荣; 激增; 隆隆声;

advocates （辩护）律师( advocate的名词复数 )

costcutting measures 成本消减的措施

the expense of

come at 袭击; 威胁; 找到; 得到

come at the expense of  以牺牲 ... ... 为代价

League联盟; 社团

campaign group运动组织

the cause of产生的原因

Broilers 嫩鸡，烤箱（ broiler的名词复数 ）

breast 乳房，乳腺

muscles 肌肉( muscle的名词复数 )

lameness 跛，残废，僵而疼痛

resemble 与…相像，类似于

unresponsive 无答复的

Zombies 麻木迟钝的人,僵尸

prevent 预防; 阻止

prevent ... from 阻止...远离

starved （使）挨饿，饥饿( starve的过去式和过去分词 )

romance浪漫史

getting on top of each other to mate

mate  n.伙伴，同事  v. 交配

get on top of 超出， 过分， 过多

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

Partly because of advocacy by animalwelfare charities, and partly because meat has become so affordable, more consumers are now willing to pay for meat raised in better conditions. Sales of free-range and organic chickens, which—unlike most broilers—have access to the outdoors, are surging. In the Netherlands, a recent public outcry over enormous plofkip (which translates as “exploded chicken”) was so intense that retailers switched in droves to breeds that grow more slowly. Plofkip’s share of the Dutch market plummeted from around 60% in 2015 to 5% in 2017. In Britain sales of free-range eggs have overtaken those of caged ones.

 

advocacy 支持

charities慈善团体; 慈爱( charity的名词复数 ); 救济金; 宽厚

affordable付得起的

willing to do sth

meat raised in better conditions  过去分词做后置定语

free-range在农场自由放养的（鸡）

organic chickens   有机（体）的

have access to 有机会接近

Surge 飙升

outcry 高声叫喊，尖叫

enormous 巨大的

exploded 爆破了的，被打破的

intense 激烈的

retailers 零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

in droves成群结队

breeds 种，品种( breed的名词复数 )

switched  to切换到

share  股份

plummeted 垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

around 60% 大约

overtaken 追上，赶上，超过( overtake的过去分词 )

caged 被关在笼中的

 

 

 

 

Concerns about the health of livestock have also led the EU to pass some of the world’s strictest animal-welfare laws. Battery cages for egg-laying hens were banned in 2012, for instance. Legislative reforms have been harder to come by in America, especially at the federal level. Animal-welfare advocates lament the country’s congressional system, which gives disproportionate clout to rural states. Nevertheless, a rare but significant state-level change came

                                           罕见的                    变革  出现

 last November when Californians voted to pass Proposition 12, which will ban the production and sale of pork, veal and eggs from animals kept in cages, bringing the state’s laws roughly in line with those in the EU.                              使得                  大致

 

The change affects all meat producers who want to sell in America’s biggest state, putting pressure on them to change their farming practices. Public companies have been more responsive than lawmakers to animal-welfare concerns. Activists have achieved remarkable success in recent years by threatening companies with the release of unflattering images and videos of how their food is produced. Research by the Open Philanthropy Project, a group which funds animal-welfare activists, finds that such campaigns have prompted more than 200 American companies—including Mc- Donald’s, Burger King and Walmart—to stop buying eggs from chicken raised in battery cages since 2015. Farmers are therefore increasingly interested in improving the lives of their birds. Richard Swartzentruber owns two chicken sheds in Greenwood, a small town in Delaware. The company he supplies, Perdue Farms, has stopped using antibiotics altogether. Mr Swartzentruber’s chicken sheds have plenty of windows and doors that open onto a fenced grassy field whenever the weather permits. This comes with trade-offs: chickens might like perching on trees, but so do hawks. Inside the sheds, bales of hay, wooden boxes and plastic platforms are scattered around to entertain his chickens. Such measures have helped him gain a good-farming certificate from the Global Animal Partnership, a charity. Bruce Stewart-Brown, a food-safety scientist at Perdue Farms, says that his company would love to raise more organic chickens. His ability to provide higherwelfare organic meat is ultimately constrained by market forces, since the feed legally required is pricey. Although larger numbers of people might be willing to pay more for organic or free-range products, most still prefer whatever is cheapest. And, despite growing interest in vegetarianism and veganism, surveys find little evidence that many people in the rich world are turning into herbivores. People may like flirting with plant-based diets. But what they really love is chicken.

 

 

 

flirting 调情，打情骂俏

herbivores食草动物( herbivore的名词复数 )

little  evidence几乎没有证据

surveys 调查( survey的第三人称单数 )

veganism素食主义

vegetarianism 纯素食，素食主义

despite 尽管

legally 法律上，合法地

feed 饲料

pricey价格高的，昂贵的

constrained 不舒服的，被强迫的，拘泥的

ultimately 最后，最终

provide 提供，供给，供应

organic chickens有机（体）的

charity慈善（行为）

certificate 证明书; 文凭

Partnership伙伴关系

entertain 热情款待

plastic 塑料制品

scattered 分散的

scatter（使）散开，（使）分散，驱散

 

 

Fence  n.围墙; 栅栏 v.用篱笆围住; 防护

grassy 长满草的

perch 栖息处

so do hawks 鹰也一样

trade-off交易

bales of hay

bales （货物）包，捆( bale的名词复数 )

hay干草

wooden 木制的

permit许可，准许

Supply  供给

antibiotics 抗生素

altogether 全部地

sheds 棚，库( shed的名词复数 )

livestock 家畜，牲畜

strictest 严格的( strict的最高级 )

Battery cages 一组笼子

Cages 笼子( cage的名词复数 )

Battery电池，蓄电池; [军] 炮台，炮位; 一组

legislative 立法的;

Federal level联邦一级

advocates （辩护）律师( advocate的名词复数 ) 辩护者

lament （为…）哀悼

disproportionate clout to rural states 农村各州不成比例的权力

proportionate成比例的

clout 敲打，猛打

Nevertheless不过; 然而; 仍然; 尽管如此

Proposition 命题

veal 牛肉

in line with 与...一致

farming practices耕作方法

lawmakers 立法者( lawmaker的名词复数 )

Public companies（有股票公开上市的）上市公司( public company的名词复数 )

 

Activists have achieved remarkable success in recent years by threatening companies with the release of unflattering images and videos of how their food is produced

Activists （政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

remarkable 异常的，引人注目的，

unflattering 不讨好人的，不奉承人的

threaten预示（某事） 威胁

stop buying eggs  ----stop doing sth.

Philanthropy 博爱

funds 基金   vt. 资助

campaigns 运动( campaign的名词复数 )

prompted 敏捷的 促使; 导致;