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1、The first article in this unit sets out the vegetarians argument against eating meat. Here, for those of you who still want to carry on eating meat with an easy heart, we have the meat eaters reply.本单元第一篇文章阐明了素食者反对食肉的理由。读者诸君中若有人仍想无所顾虑地吃肉，就请来看看肉食者的回答。 Wheres the Beef?Alan Herscovici1 With summer come
2、s that most wonderful of North American traditions, the backyard barbecue. The succulent aroma of fresh grilled steak, sausages, chicken and fish draws family, friends and neighbours together for a communal feast. Inevitably, in these politically correct times the conversation may drift to the quest
3、ion of whether we really ought to be eating meat at all.牛肉在哪里？阿伦赫兹克维西 随夏日而来的是北美传统习俗中最美妙的一件事，后院烤肉餐。刚下烤架的牛排、香肠、鸡肉、鱼肉鲜美无比，引来了亲朋好友、左邻右舍，大家一起欢宴。不用说，在如今这个讲求政治正确的时代，聊着聊着就可能聊到我们究竟该不该吃肉的问题。2 The following guide should help see you through until the burgers are done.以下的指南想必会帮助你捱过等待汉堡牛排烤熟的那段时间。3 Appealing to s
4、elf-interest, a common opening line for proselytizing vegetarians is to claim that “eating meat is bad for us.” They have trouble explaining, however, why human health and longevity have improved steadily as animal products became more readily available throughout this century. In fact, meat is an e
5、xcellent source of 12 essential nutrients, including protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins.出于人们往往考虑自身利益这一点，那些劝人茹素的素食者通常一开口就声称“肉食有害健康”。然而，他们难以解释，为什么本世纪动物源性食品日益普及，人们的健康水平和寿命却持续上升。事实上，肉类富含12种人体必需的营养成分，其中包括蛋白质、铁、锌和各种维生素B。4 It is true that excessive fats can be harmful, but todays meats are lean. Based on e
6、qual-size servings, tofu has more fat than a sirloin steak and only half the protein. (Tofu also makes a mess of the grill.)不错，过多的脂肪有害健康，但如今的肉都是瘦肉。以同样大小的一份计，豆腐比一块后腿部牛排的脂肪含量多，而蛋白质含量仅是其一半。(何况豆腐会把烤架弄得一团糟。)5 With the exception of certain religious sects, people have rarely been vegetarian by choice. Mos
7、t often, vegetarianism is the unfortunate result of poverty. Yet the veggie crowd also claims that “humans are not natural meat-eaters.” Our teeth are not as sharp and our intestinal tracts not as short as those of cats and other pure carnivores. But we are not equipped to be herbivores, either. Lik
8、e other omnivores (such as bears or racoons), our digestive equipment allows us to tackle a wide range of foods.除了某些宗教派别，很少有人自愿吃素。素食主义往往是贫穷的不幸产物。然而，那伙吃素的还说什么“人类并非天生的肉食者”。相比那些猫科动物及其他纯食肉动物，我们的牙齿不够锋利，我们的肠道又过长。但人类也并非理想的食草动物。如同其他杂食动物(如熊和浣熊)一样，我们的消化系统可以应付多种多样的食物。6 If we were not designed to eat meat, why
9、do we produce large quantities of the enzymes required to break down such foods? Why is vitamin B12 (found only in animal products) essential to human life? If we were not natural meat-eaters, or at least bug and grub eaters, our species would have died out long ago. If we did not develop as hunters
10、, why are our eyes in the front to our heads like those of other predators (tigers, wolves or owls)? Why does the mere smell of a sizzling steak set my saliva glands watering?如果我们生来不吃肉，那人体何以会产生大量分解肉食所必需的消化酶？为什么维生素B12(仅含于动物源性食品中)为人体不可或缺？如果人类并非天生的肉食者至少要会吃昆虫那人类这一物种早就灭绝了。如果人类不曾进化为猎食其他物种的动物，那为什么如其他食肉动物(如
11、虎、狼或猫头鹰)一样，我们的眼睛长在头的前部？为什么一块烤得咝咝作响的牛排的香味就会让我的唾液分泌腺流出口水？7 Shifting their ground, animal activists now charge that livestock threatens the environment. But much of the worlds arable land is best suited to be used as pasture. It is too hilly, fragile, dry or cold for cultivation. Cattle convert grass i
12、nto nutrients that can be digested by humans. Those who promote organic agriculture understand that livestock completes the nutrient cycle by returning organic matter to the soil with manure.动物保护主义者换了个进攻方向，指责牲畜威胁环境。然而，世界上许多可耕地用作牧场最适合。那些土地起伏不平，土质贫瘠，不是太干就是气候太冷，不宜耕种。牲畜把牧草转化为人类能够消化的食物。那些提倡有机农业的人深知，牲畜通过粪
13、肥把有机物质返回土壤，以此完成食物循环的过程。8 Other anti-meat myths can also be dismissed. For example: Whatever you may think about fast food hamburgers, eating them does not encourage the destruction of Amazon rainforests. Because of disease-control measures, no unprocessed South American beef products at all may be i
14、mported into Canada. Livestock do not use up grains that could otherwise feed starving people in Third World countries. The main diet of cattle is grass and hay. Pigs, chickens and other farm animals are generally fed corn and barley, while people eat mainly wheat and rice. Animals also consume pest
15、-and weather-damaged grains, crop residues (corn stalks and leaves) and by-products from food processing, such as unusable grains (or parts of grains) left over from producing breakfast cereals and other human foods. Raising livestock in Canada does not prevent us from shipping emergency supplies to
16、 people in need. Hunger today, however, is usually the result of political, economic and distribution problems, not a lack of production capacity. The production of methane gas by livestock is not a major contributor to global warming. Methane gas is only one of many possible “greenhouse” gases. It is produced by all sorts of decomposition of organic matter, including normal digestion (even by vegetarians). Mai
