Floating dairy farm

山东滕州一中 王介忠

题材 农业 体裁 说明文 文章词数 388 建议用时 6 min

难词探意

1.résumé/΄rezjumeı/n.摘要；梗概；概述

2.reluctant/rı΄lʌktənt/adj.勉强的；不情愿的

3.brewery/΄bruːəri/n.啤酒公司；啤酒厂

4.circularity/ˌsзːkjə΄lærəti/n.循环性

Arésuméfor the Netherlands would list water management and the development of advanced agricultural technology among its top skills.It makes perfect sense,then,that the world's first experimental floating dairy farm—the outcome of a seven-year,US$2.9-million effort—is sited in the industrial and warehousing area（仓储区）of Rotterdam's active Merwehaven harbor.

Late last month,handlers anxiously introduced 35 Issel cows,a breed native to the Netherlands,to the two-story floating platform.Worries that the cows would get seasick or bereluctantto cross the bridge onto the platform proved unfounded,and the animals have adjusted to the change of scenery and are producing milk on their new floating home.

The idea for the Rotterdam farm came to life in 2012,when Van Wingerden,a Dutch engineer and the founder of the project,was working in New York City as Hurricane Sandy hit.Damaging floods brought food distribution by truck to a stop.The experience turned his previously unclear ideas about growing food on the water into a passion project.

This begins with the cows'diet.Eventually,the animals will feed on food waste from the city,such as grain and potato peels frombreweries,and grass clippings from sports fields and golf courses.The switch to local biological waste from their previous feed is being done gradually to help the cows acclimate.

“A floating farm is part of a circular city,”Van Wingerden says.Thecircularityis also seen in the platform's design.The cows live on the farm's top floor,where a robot collects their waste and pushes it to a collection point which carries it down to the first floor to be recycled.The cows’milk can be purchased from the farm and 23 retail locations around the city.

Van Wingerden says his company is planning to build two more floating platforms next to the dairy farm,one to grow vegetables and the other with chickens to farm eggs.Construction will start late this year for completion in summer 2020.The company plans to build platforms in Singapore and the Chinese cities of Nanjing and Shanghai.Apart from the food it produces,Wingerden sees the farm's educational value.“It's important to show people in cities that agriculture is our daily food source,”he says.

Reading Check

1.Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word“anxiously”in Para.2?

A.Fearfully. B.Worriedly. C.Hurriedly. D.Curiously.

2.How was Van Wingerden's idea for the floating farm formed?

A.By watching Hurricane Sandy.B.By working in New York City.C.By witnessing a storm himself.D.By observing damaging floods.

3.How can circularity in the platform work?

A.The cows'waste will be dealt with and reused.B.The cows will live on the top floor with a robot.C.The cows will feed on human waste from the city.D.The cows'fresh milk can be bought outside the farm.

4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A.Two more floating platforms will be built in two years.B.The company will build more platforms in Asian countries.C.People can receive agricultural education on such a platform.D.Nanjing and Shanghai have decided to introduce such platforms.

Language Study

Memorize the following phrases and complete the sentences below with them.

有意义make sense

不愿意；不情愿be reluctant to

调节；调整以适应adjust to

复活；复苏；形成come to life

除……之外；还有apart from=aside from=besides