英語聽力：自然百科 人類與牛（下）

A barbecue taps into our hunter-gatherer of past. But eating beef no longer requires a life-and-death battle for the formidable adversary. 8000 years ago, something extraordinary happened to change all that.

hunter-gatherer:采獵者，靠打獵和采集為生的人

adversary:對手

The first cows came out of the forests and savannas and into the fields. Whether they came of their own accord or were caught is still debated. But the combination of bovine brawn and human brains would change the destiny of both species.

savanna:開闊平坦的大草原

bovine:牛的

brawn:肌肉

Domestication was our first step in taking control of nature, in harnessing the power of once wild animals, we would utterly transform life on earth.

Domestication:n.馴服(動物)

Laurie Winn Carlson is the author of Cattle: An Informal Social History.

"It appears that domestication of cattle began about 8000 years ago in three separate locations.One location is Mesopotamia, and another was in Indus River Valley, and the third location now is believed to be Africa."

Mesopotamia:美索不達米亞(或“兩河流域”)

Indus River Valley:印度河谷

From these centers, domestication spread across Eurasia and throughout Africa.

Eurasia:亞歐大陸

All over the planet, there were hundreds of potential choices for domestication. But it was the cow that became early man's most important ally as the hunter-gatherer lifestyle gradually settled into agriculture.

What made the cow so special? On the plains of East Africa, where earliest men first hunted, we can still see what our ancestors were up against. The criteria for domestication is uncompromising. Very few species would pass muster.

up against:面臨，面對(問題、困難等)

uncompromising:嚴格得不容商量的

pass muster:合格，達到要求

If an animal is too flighty or depends on mass migration for survival, it fails; if it cannot breed in captivity, it fails; if it grows too slowly or too large, it fails; if its diet or the conditions it needs are too specialized to recreate, it fails; if it is too aggressive, it fails.

flighty:性格不穩(wěn)定的

The cow passed all these exacting tests to become the most important member of a very exclusive club— the domesticates. Our ancestors chose wisely and there had been very few additions to their original list of animal allies.

exacting:苛刻的

domesticate: 馴養(yǎng)動物

"It seems that cattle’s herd behavior is what made them so suitable for domestication, because they like to stay in a group, they seek solace in the group when they stay together. And by then following their self-selected leader for where they choose to go, it’s been easy for man to take that place, and to become imprimitive as the leader of the herd.

On the other hand, animals that are quite nervous, they have nervous temperament and exhibit a fright response. When man appears, they just jump and run. And there is no chance for interaction. So it was that pause that cattle have, that curiosity, the security that they have within, the herd, they feel very secure when they are all together. So they don't up and run and run off. So it gives that chance for man and cattle to bond."

In every new relationship there are new responsibilities, but who exactly was in charge? Man or cow? Although the cow pulled the plough, man, too, was set to work.