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Hey, Squeaks, can you guess what animal I'm thinking of?
吱吱,你能猜到我正在想什么动物吗？
It's big, has black and white spots, and goes "Moooooooo!"
它体型很大，有黑白斑点，叫声像“哞...”
That's it. You got it, it's a cow!
你猜对了，我想的就是母牛。
It's actually only the girl animals that are called cows.
实际上只有那些雌性才被称为母牛。
And the boys are called bulls or steers, and baby cows are called calves.
雄性被称作是公牛或阉牛，牛宝宝叫做犊牛。
When you put them all together, they're called cattle.
总称是牛。
Cattle are some of my favorite farm animals.
牛是我最喜欢的一种家畜。
And there's an amazing story behind how we humans started having them on our farms.
人类如何开始圈养牛是个令人惊奇的故事。
Cattle come in all shapes and sizes.
牛的体型和大小各不相同。
It's kind of like how there are lots of different breeds of dogs.
就像狗有不同的品种，
There are big ones, small ones, extra fluffy ones, and ones with certain colors or patterns...
如大型犬、小型犬、绒毛犬、有某一颜色或图案的犬...
Cattle are like that too!
牛和犬一样有很多品种。
The black and white spotted kind are a breed called the Holstein.
荷尔斯泰因牛品种的牛有黑白斑点。
But there are also cattle that are brown, like Jersey cattle, or red, like this Devon bull.
但也有一些牛是褐色的，如娟珊牛，有些是红色的，如德文郡牛。
Khandari Cattle are also reddish, but they have big humps on their back!
“Khandari”牛略带红色，但背上有大的隆起。
Other kinds of cattle have huge horns, and some are really fluffy!
其他种类的牛都有巨大的犄角，有些牛的毛很蓬松。
The furry cattle are my favorite.
绒毛牛是我的最爱。
There are well over 200 kinds of cattle, and they're all unique!
牛的品种有200多种，它们都是独一无二的。
I agree, Squeaks! Some cattle are pretty cute!
吱吱，你说得对。有些牛很可爱。
But even though they're cute, cattle aren't really pets.
但就算它们可爱，也不是真正的宠物。
They're farm animals, which means that a lot of the time,
牛是家畜，这意味着很多时候，
people keep them so that the cattle will make them food.
人类养牛是为了获取食物。
People have been living with and taking care of cattle like this for a very long time.
人类很长一段时间内一直与牛生活并照管它们。
You see, long ago, people lived near a relative of today's cattle, an animal called an aurochs.
很久以前，人类与现代家牛的近亲一起生活，我们把这种牛叫做原牛。
People knew that aurochs could make milk that was good to drink, and meat that was good to eat.
人类知道原牛的奶好喝，肉很好吃。
But the young aurochs could get attacked by predators, that is, other animals that wanted to eat them, like wolves.
但是小原牛会受到捕食者的攻击，像狼等其它动物都是它的天敌。
In order to get food from the aurochs, people would watch out for them, and keep any predators away.
为了从原牛身上获取食物，人类会保护它们，使它们远离捕食者的威胁。
Soon, people began working so closely with the aurochs that these ancient cattle felt pretty safe with the humans.
不久之后，人类开始与原牛即古代牛亲近起来，它们与人在一起感觉很安全。
The aurochs would let people take their milk,
原牛为人类提供牛奶，
and people would have something to eat and drink when they couldn't find food growing around them.
当人类在周围找不到食物时，他们能从原牛那里获得吃的喝的。
The aurochs began to rely on humans for safety, so they slowly became what we call domesticated,
原牛开始依赖人类获得安全感，所以它们逐渐被驯化，
meaning that these cattle lived with humans and weren't very afraid of them.
这意味着这些牛不再害怕与人类生活。
People had already domesticated some other animals, like dogs and cats,
人类已经驯养了一些其他动物，如狗和猫，
but cattle and other farm animals are a bit different.
但牛和其他的家畜有点儿不同。
People take care of farm animals in return for what they give us for food.
人类照顾家畜，它们则为人类提供食物。
From cattle, we can get things like milk, butter, cheese, and beef.
牛能为我们提供牛奶、黄油、奶酪和牛肉。
This allows people to have food all year round,
即使谷物收成不好时，
even when the crops they plant aren't growing food.
它们也能保证人类全年有食物。
It also allows the cattle to be safer out in the open.
牛被圈养比在外边散养安全。
Cattle are still very important to many farms.
对许多农场来说，牛仍然是非常重要的。
People all over the world want to drink cow's milk, eat cheese and ice cream, and enjoy a hamberg.
因为全世界的人类都想喝牛奶、吃奶酪、冰淇淋和汉堡。
Farmers raise their cattle in all kinds of ways.
农民用各种方法养牛。
Some farmers keep huge herds, and others only have a few cows.
一些农民养很多牛，有些农民只养几头牛。
But even the smallest farm uses science to help take care of their cattle!
但即使是最小的农场，也会运用科学来照管牛。
Farmers can keep track of what makes their cows healthy and strong.
农民们知道如何让奶牛健康强壮。
They can measure just the right amounts of different foods to help their cows grow really big.
为了让它们茁壮成长，他们能准确称量出不同饲料的多少。
Even they can use medicine to keep their cows healthy.
甚至他们可以用药物来保证奶牛的健康。
Exactly! Squeaks. Those are just some the ways that farmers have to think like scientists.
吱吱，你说得对。这些只是农民像科学家一样思考的方法而已。
Farmers also have to keep track of other animals that cattle can live with on a farm.
农民还必须了解与牛在同一农场生活的其他动物的状况。
Cattle can live with goats, sheep, horses,
牛可以与山羊、绵羊、马
and lots of other animals that like to group up together in a big herd.
等很多其他群居动物一起生活。
These animals all have to get along and feel safe with each other.
这些动物必须友好相处、彼此感到安全。
They'll usually stay in their herd as they try to find plants to eat and watch for predators.
当它们想要外出觅食、警戒捕食者时，通常会一起行动。
The farmers taking care of them need to keep track of all of their animals' needs, from the biggest to the smallest.
不管是大是小，农民都需要了解它们的需求。
Each animal provides something for humans, and in return we take care of them.
动物为我们提供食物，反过来，我们要照顾它们。
What's your favorite farm animal?
你最喜欢的家畜是什么？
Have you ever visited a farm or milked a cow?
你曾去过农场或为奶牛挤奶吗？
Have a grown-up help you leave a comment down below, or send us an email to kids@scishow.com
让大人帮忙在下方留言，或发邮件至kids@scishow.com。
Thanks and we'll see you next time. Here at the fort!
感谢您的收看，我们下期再见。我们在沃斯堡等你。
