VOA常速英语2013--山羊获得国会山工作

Goats Get a Capitol Hill Job 山羊获得国会山工作 

While members of the U.S. Congress are on vacation this month, work continues around the U.S. Capitol. Not by Congressional aides, though. A herd 1 of goats was set loose in the Historic Congressional Cemetery 2 to clean up a snarly 3 environmental problem.

本月，当美国国会成员们在度假时，国会的工作依旧在进行着。话虽如此，但工作的不是那些国会成员的助手们，一群山羊被放养在历史国会公墓用来解决 个混乱的环境问题。

The goats came to eat. And, they didn’t lose any time, says handler Brian Knox, who owns a company called Eco-Goats.

山羊们来这里吃，它们没有磨蹭。自己经营了一家名叫经济羊公司的管理员Brian Knox说

“They will eat until midnight and get up and eat at three o’clock in the morning and have something else to eat too," said Knox.

“他们会一直吃到午夜然后又起床从凌晨三点钟开始吃，它们也吃其他的一些东西。”Knox说

The Historic Congressional Cemetery dates to 1807.  While it’s not officially connected to Congress, the graveyard 4 is the final resting place of some 200 Congressmen and their families, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, composer John Philip Sousa and even a circus performer who was killed by a tiger when in town.

历史国会公墓建于1807年，然而它与国会并没有什么正式的关系。在该公墓长眠的有200名国会议员和他们的家人，有美国联邦调查局局长胡佛，音乐作曲家John Philip Sousa甚至还有被老虎杀死的圈内演员。

The goats are here to remove the overgrown thicket 5 that blocks a view of the Anacostia River on one end of the property, says Paul Williams, president of the Association for the Preservation 6 of the Historic Congressional Cemetery.   

山羊在这里清除疯长的挡住位于国会公墓一角的安那考斯蒂亚河风景的灌木丛，国会公墓保护协会的主席Paul Williams说。

“We brought in the goats because we have an invasive species problem in our wooded area, not in our burial area. But those vines tend to kill the big mature trees and in turn the trees tend to fall on our historic headstones," said Williams.

“我们把山羊带进公墓来是因为在我们的多木区有严重的物种侵略问题而不是在墓区。但是这些藤蔓可能会杀死成年的树木，相继的树木会落要我们的总统石像上。”Williams说

Williams says that goats are a more ecologically friendly alternative to removing the vines by handcutting, chemicals or heavy equipment.

Williams说，相比于人工割草，化学喷剂或者是大型工具山羊吃草是一个更加环境友好型的选择。

Knox has 60 goats on the job.

Knox有60只山羊在工作。

“So the perfect place to put the goats is where you don’t have anything you want to save, because they are pretty indiscriminant. I refer to them as herbicide with legs," he said.

“所以一个牧羊的好地方是那里没有一个植物是你想要保护的，因为山羊它们可是相当的随意的。我把它们当作是有腿的除草剂。”他说

The animals are confined behind electric and chain link fences to keep them off the actual burial ground, which is neatly 7 mowed 8.  Paul Williams says while the goats aggressively consume the vegetation non-stop, they are also attracting visitors to the historic landmark 9.     

山羊们被用通了电的并用铁链连接起来的栅栏阻挡在已经除过草的墓区之外。Paul Williams说，当山羊们不停的消灭某物的时候，它们也为国会公墓吸引了游客。

“It really is bringing people. We’re treating it as an education program to bring people into this beautiful cemetery," he said.

“它真的在吸引游客来观光，我们把它当作一个教育项目来把游客带进这 个美丽的公墓。”

Holly 10 Howe lives nearby and raced over with sons Quinton, Hollis and Harrison to watch the goats at work.

Holly Howe住在公墓的附近，和儿子Quinton、Hollis和Harrison一起看管那些山羊。

Brian Knox expects his eco-goats to clear the nearly one hectare plot in about a week. By the time Congress gets back in town, they will be long gone and on to another job.

Brian Knox希望他的经济山羊能够在一个礼拜吃掉一公顷的植物。当国会议员们度假回来时，它们早就离开了并且在其他地方工作了。