(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.
Alpacas are large animals with long, thick hair. They are related to camels and lamas. Most of them live in the Andean area of South America. But a growing number of them are being raised in the United States. VOA recently visited an Alpaca Farm near Washington to find out why.
Alpacas are being sheared at an Alpaca Farm in Maryland, less than an hour away from the nation's capital. Shearing is the process of removing that thick, heavy covering of fleece from the animal. Some of the alpacas quietly let the owners shear them, but some of them do not like it at all.
The alpacas on Sugarloaf Farm are sheared to keep them cool during the hot summer months. The shearing is also profitable for farm owner Kevin Brandt. He says there is a growing demand for alpaca wool.
"We're finding that there are more people in the marketplace looking for alpaca yarns because it's considered to be hypoallergenic, and it's really as soft as cashmere," Brandt said.
Mr Brandt and his workers turn the fleece from the animals into yarn, using an equipment at the farm. Mr Brandt sales natural and colored yarn, and other alpaca products in his store at the farm. But that is not the only way he makes money from his animals.
"We raise and sell alpacas as bred females. We also sell pet males and fiber males to others. We also have a stud service where we'll take our stud males around for hire," Brandt said.
Mr Brandt says he entered the Alpaca of farming business, because he and his family love the animals.
"My wife Nancy and oldest daughter and I were at the local country fair and we decided to stop into one more barn before we went home and it happened to be the alpaca barn and almost instantly we fell in love with the alpacas," Brandt said.
Experts estimate there are about 300,000 alpacas in the United States. Mr Brandt says fewer alpacas live in places other than South America. The Farm's website says 99 percent of the 3 million alpacas in the world live in Peru, Bolivia and Chile.
"Alpaca are just a wonderful livestock. They're gentle. We've raised our three kids here and it's a wonderful lifestyle to have," said Brandt.
And as more and more people learn about the joy and money alpacas can bring, he believes there will be even more farms like his.
And that's the VOA Learning English Agriculture Report. For more agriculture stories, go to our website learningenglish.voanews.com. I'm Caty Weaver.
文本来自51voa，译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载
词汇解释
1.shear vt. 剪；修剪；剥夺 vi. 剪；剪切；修剪 n. [力] 切变；修剪；大剪刀
Competitors have six minutes to shear four sheep.
参赛者们有6分钟的时间来给4只羊剪毛。
2.hypoallergenic adj. 低变应原的 n. 低变应的药物
The eyeliner should be waterproof, as well as hypoallergenic if you have sensitive skin.
眼线应该是防水的，如果你是敏感肌肤还应选用低过敏材质的。
3.cashmere n. 羊绒；开士米；开士米羊毛织品；开士米绒线
She wore a cashmere scarf, silk suit and pearls.
她围了一条开士米围巾，穿了一身丝绸套装，戴了一串珍珠。
4.alpacas 羊驼，羊驼毛，镍银
Gold and silver veined the mountains, and herds of alpacas and llamas fattened in lush meadows.
茂盛的草地养肥了大批羊驼和美洲驼。
内容解析
1....and we decided to stop into one more barn before we went home and it happened to be the alpaca barn and almost instantly we fell in love with the alpacas,
fall in love with 爱上，堕入情网
The poet fell in love with her and immortalized her in his verse.
诗人爱上了她，并以诗歌使她名传后世。
The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.
王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
羊驼是一种有着又长又厚毛发的动物，和骆驼和美洲鸵有关系。它们大多生活在南美洲安第斯山脉地区，但美国饲养了越来越多的羊驼，美国之音最近采访了华盛顿附近的一个羊驼农场来寻找原因。
在距离华盛顿不到一小时车程的马里兰州羊驼农场，人们在给羊驼剪毛。剪毛就是从动物身上剪去厚实毛发的过程，有的羊驼安静地任由主人来剪毛，但有的根本不喜欢剪毛。
在夏天炎热的日子里，人们给糖块农场的羊驼们，来让它们凉快些。对于农场主凯文·勃兰特来说，剪羊毛也是有利可图的，他说对羊驼毛的需求在增加。
“我们发现市场上有越来越多的人在寻找羊驼毛线，人们认为羊驼毛线具有低敏感性。”
勃兰特和工人们用农场里的设备将羊毛纺成纱线，在农场的商店里，勃兰特出售原色和染色的纱线，以及其他羊驼产品。但他从农场挣的钱还不止这些。
“我们饲养并出售育种雌羊驼，还出售宠物雄羊驼，还提供配种服务，我们将配种雄羊驼四处出租。”
勃兰特说他之所以从事羊驼养殖行业，是因为他和家人都喜欢动物。
“我和妻子南希和大女儿当时在本地的集市上，我们决定回家前到一家畜棚看看，碰巧这是一家羊驼圈，然后一霎那我们就喜欢上了羊驼。”
专家估计美国有大约30万羊驼，勃兰特说很少羊驼生活在南美洲之外，这家农场的网站上说全世界300万头羊驼中有99%的生活在秘鲁、玻利维亚和智利。
“羊驼是一种神奇的牲畜，它们很温和，我们在这里养大了三个孩子，这种生活方式很奇妙。”
随着越来越多的人了解到羊驼带来的欢乐和财富，他认为将来会有更多这样的农场。
这就是美国之音慢速英语农业报道，登陆learningenglish.voanews.com获得更多农业报道，我是凯蒂·韦弗。
