Have you ever wanted the benefits of living on a farm, but live in an apartment or house in the city? Some people in the U.S. are not allowing their small living spaces to “get in the way of” (prevent them from) their desire for fresh meat and “dairy” (milk) products.
你是否曾經想過享受住在農場的好處,但卻住在城市的公寓或房子裡? 一些美國人不讓他們的小居住空間「妨礙」(阻止他們)他們對新鮮肉類和「乳製品」(牛奶產品)的渴望。
One recent “trend” (general direction that something is developing) is for “urban-dwellers” (people living in cities) to keep “barnyard” (farm) animals in their backyards or even indoors. Some people keep chickens, rabbits, turkeys, bees, and even “dwarf” (miniature; small-sized) goats! This trend has been “fueled by” (encouraged by) people wanting to eat food grown locally and “organically” (without the use of chemicals), and also because the uncertain economy has made people want to be more “self-sufficient,” able to rely on themselves for producing food.
最近的一個「趨勢」(某事發展的一般方向)是「城市居民」(住在城市的人)在他們的後院甚至室內飼養「農場」(農場)動物。一些人飼養雞、兔子、火雞、蜜蜂,甚至「矮小的」(迷你;小型的)山羊!這一趨勢是由於人們希望食用本地種植和「有機的」(不使用化學品)的食品,同時也因為經濟不確定性使人們希望變得更加「自給自足」,能夠依靠自己生產食物。
Some people keep chickens for eggs, and there are even companies that sell “diapers” (material you normally put around a baby’s bottom and between his/her legs to keep clean) for your indoor chickens. Miniature goats are kept for milk and for eating “weeds” (unwanted plants) in the yard, and bees are kept for honey.
一些人飼養雞來產蛋,甚至還有公司出售給室內雞使用的「尿布」(通常繞在嬰兒的屁股和腿之間保持清潔的材料)。迷你山羊用來產奶和吃掉院子裡的「雜草」(不需要的植物),蜜蜂則用來產蜂蜜。
As you can imagine, not everyone is happy about having barnyard animals as their neighbors. Some animals are noisy, others smell, and still others can do serious damage if they “escape” (get out of their cage or living space). That is why cities are “scrambling” (doing something quickly and perhaps not doing it well) to change or develop new laws to control and limit this type of “animal husbandry” (the science and keeping of farm animals).
可以想像,不是每個人都喜歡有農場動物作為鄰居。有些動物很吵,有些有氣味,還有一些如果「逃跑」(從籠子或生活空間中逃出)會造成嚴重損害。這就是為什麼城市正在「爭先恐後」(迅速行動,可能做得不好)地修改或制定新法律來控制和限制這種類型的「畜牧業」(飼養農場動物的科學和管理)。
In Seattle, Washington, for example, you can have no more than three goats on a 5,000-square-foot property. In Atlanta, Georgia, you are limited to 75 rabbits on a “residential” (home) property, and in Oakland, California, you must leave 20 feet between any place chickens are kept and a place where people live; “roosters” (male chickens) are not allowed.
例如,在華盛頓州的西雅圖,5000平方英尺的房產上最多只能飼養三隻山羊。在喬治亞州的亞特蘭大,一個「住宅」(家庭)房產上最多可飼養75隻兔子;在加利福尼亞州的奧克蘭,飼養雞的地方與居住的地方必須保持20英尺的距離;「公雞」(雄雞)是不允許的。