【轻松英文阅读】人造鸡肉

 Americans love chicken. In fact, it’s the most popular meat in the United States. Americans eat more than eight billion chickens per year. But bringing all of that chicken to the dinner table creates a lot of big problems. Meat production is bad for the environment and the welfare of the animals. Plus, it’s really quite inefficient¹ and unsustainable.

 

 

 

Well, a high-tech² food company in California may have the solution. In March of this year, Memphis Meats, a pioneer in the “clean meat movement,” announced the first chicken meat grown in a lab from chicken cells. They invited taste-testers to sample the chicken in front of the media. Those who tried it said that it tasted like real chicken, but a little spongier.

 

You may have to wait a while before you see the high-tech chicken in your local supermarket. It’s still extremely expensive to produce. They estimate³ that one kilogram costs almost 20,000 dollars. According to the company that price should come down, and they plan to release⁴ a reasonably priced product by 2021.

1 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

2 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

3 estimate   

n.估计，估量；评价，看法；vt.估计，估量

参考例句：

• We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
• The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at ＄200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。

4 release   

vt.发布，发表，发行；释放，放开

参考例句：

• After my examination I had a feeling of release.考完试后我有如释重负之感。
• This medicine will give you release from pain.这药吃后会解除你的疼痛。