US to Destroy Hundreds of Cattle Linked to Mad Cow Infection

US to Destroy Hundreds of Cattle Linked to Mad Cow Infection

 

Michael Bowman

U.S. agriculture officials have announced plans to destroy hundreds of cattle linked to the first case of mad cow disease found in the United States.

Agriculture officials say the decision to destroy some 450 male calves¹ conforms with a pledge to proceed with an abundance of caution in the wake of last month's diagnosis² of mad cow disease in a dairy cow in the northwestern state of Washington.

The Department of Agriculture's chief veterinarian, Ron DeHaven, says the calves to be slaughtered⁴ include the month-old offspring of the infected cow. He says, since the calf⁵ in question could not be identified, the entire herd⁶ would be destroyed.

Dr. DeHaven spoke⁷ with reporters via telephone. "The calves will be transported to a slaughter³ facility that currently is not being used. In total, there are approximately 450 animals that will be sacrificed as part of this effort. None of the animals will enter the human food chain, nor will any of the products from those animals go into a rendered product."

Aside from the calves to be slaughtered, several thousand cattle remain under quarantine.

Meanwhile, results from DNA⁸ tests that could confirm whether the infected cow came from Canada are expected later this week. The tests are comparing the DNA of the infected cow with samples from a farm in Alberta, Canada. Dr. DeHaven said, even assuming the tests confirm the infected cow's origin as Canadian, it would be premature⁹ to say whether the United States would then request certification as being free of mad cow disease from an international veterinary group.

Such certification could be useful in restoring global confidence in American beef, which has been severely¹⁰ shaken in recent weeks. More than a dozen countries have banned U.S. beef imports since the mad cow case was discovered.

 

注释：

mad cow disease  疯牛病

calf [kB:f] n. 小牛

conform with  符合，与……一致

pledge [pledV] n. 保证

proceed with  继续进行

diagnosis [7daiE^5nEusis] n. 诊断

dairy cow  乳牛，奶牛

Department of Agriculture （美国）农业部

veterinarian [7vetEri5nZEriEn] n. 兽医

slaughter [5slC:tE] v. 屠宰，屠杀

offspring [5C:fsprIN] n. 后代（单复数同形）

in question  被怀疑的，被争论的

via [5vaiE] prep. 通过，经由

facility [fE5siliti] n. 设施，设备

food chain  食物链

render [5rendE] vt. 提取（脂肪），炼（油）

aside from  除……以外

quarantine [5kwCrEnti:n] n. 检疫

premature [7premE5tjuE] adj. 太早的，未成熟的

veterinary [5vetErinEri] 兽医的

ban [bAn] vt. 禁止

1 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

3 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

4 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

6 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

9 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

10 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。