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在世界各地，炎热干燥的天气状况正在加剧野火发生的风险。有些国家和地区正在用一种不同寻常的方法来消防减灾 —— “山羊消防队”。他们用放牧山羊群来清除杂草、灌木等易燃的植物。本期 “随身英语” 介绍山羊为什么能比人类和其它动物更好地完成这项任务。
词汇：wildfire prevention 野火防范 Meat, milk, cheese – just some of the things provided by goats. But now we can also add fire safety to this list. As wildfires damage increasingly large areas of the planet each year, goat herds may offer a way of reducing the risk. Wildfires are made possible by hot, dry weather conditions as well as a supply of dead vegetation that serves as fuel. We may have limited control over the first factor, but we can control the second. Reducing the fuel load lowers the probability of wildfires occurring, as well as the amount of damage caused. This is where we can turn to goats to provide a solution. Goats are being used for landscape management in a number of places around the world, including Greece, Spain, Portugal, Chile and various parts of the United States. Goats have a very tough digestive system. Many kinds of vegetation that are toxic to other animals can be easily eaten by goats. It's not just fully-grown plants that goats are able to deal with: any seeds that pass through a goat become non-viable and will not grow. Human clearance teams have to worry about getting to hard-to-reach vegetation patches – goats don't. They are skilled mountain climbers and when standing on their hind legs, can reach up to two metres to devour shrubs and grass that humans would struggle to reach. Because of this, using goats can reduce both the possibility of workplace accidents and the amount of money spent on fire protection measures. Goat herds have been found to clear some patches of land for a third of the price of human vegetation control teams. Cost and safety aren't the only benefits. Goats are quieter than lawnmowers and people usually prefer to see goats grazing rather than litres of herbicide being sprayed on the land. Children are often fascinated to see the goats at work and this provides an opportunity to educate people about preventing wildfires. 词汇表fire safety 消防安全 测验与练习1. 阅读课文并回答问题。 1. What two things does the article say make wildfires possible? 2. True or False? It is not possible to limit fuel for wildfires. 3. Why are goats more suitable to this task than other animals? 4. What happens to seeds that are eaten by goats? 5. What two possible advantages of goat herds over human vegetation clearance teams are mentioned? 2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。 1. This car is very efficient so it doesn't use much _______. fuel fire protection fuel load safety 2. Lowering the _______ of fire damage is important. vegetation toxic fuel risk 3. _______ goats on land improves its condition. Planting Grazing Clearing Devouring 4. Many snakes quickly _______ their prey. devour shrub herd graze 5. Left alone, a _______ can become a fire risk. goat herd landscape vegetation patch herbicide 答案1. 阅读课文并回答问题。 1. What two things does the article say make wildfires possible? Wildfires are made possible by hot, dry weather conditions as well as a supply of dead vegetation that serves as fuel. 2. True or False? It is not possible to limit fuel for wildfires. False. This is a factor that can be controlled by removing dead vegetation. 3. Why are goats more suitable to this task than other animals? Because goats are able to eat vegetation that is toxic to other animals. 4. What happens to seeds that are eaten by goats? Any seeds that pass through a goat become non-viable and will not grow. 5. What two possible advantages of goat herds over human vegetation clearance teams are mentioned? Using goats can reduce both the possibility of workplace accidents and the amount of money spent on fire protection measures. 2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。 1. This car is very efficient so it doesn't use much fuel. 2. Lowering the risk of fire damage is important. 3. Grazing goats on land improves its condition. 4. Many snakes quickly devour their prey. 5. Left alone, a vegetation patch can become a fire risk.
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