Why I Would Raise Chickens

⊙ By Bill Gates

翻譯：藍(lán)藍(lán)

Why I Would Raise Chickens

我為什么要養(yǎng)雞

⊙ By Bill Gates

翻譯：藍(lán)藍(lán)

雞年說“雞”，一起看看由比爾·蓋茨牽頭的比爾與梅琳達(dá)·蓋茨基金會(huì)這一年來在非洲推廣的養(yǎng)雞致富項(xiàng)目。授人以魚不如授人以漁，說的不正是這個(gè)道理嗎？

If you were living on $2 a day, what would you do to improve your life?

That’s a real question for the nearly one billion people living in extremepoverty[貧窮]today. There’s no single right answer, of course, and poverty looks different in different places. But through my work with thefoundation[基金會(huì)], it’s pretty clear to me that just about anyone who’s living in extreme poverty will be better off if they have chickens.

Chickens are easy andinexpensive[便宜的]to take care of. Manybreeds[品種]can eat whatever they find on the ground. Hens need some kind of shelter where they cannest[筑巢], and as yourflock[鳥群]grows, you might want some wood and wire to make acoop[雞舍]. Also, chickens need just a fewvaccines[疫苗], which won’t cost a lot of money.

They’re a goodinvestment[投資]. Suppose a new farmer starts with five hens. One of her neighbors owns a rooster tofertilize[使受精]the eggs. After three months, she can have a flock of 40chicks[小雞]. Eventually, with a sale price of $5 per chicken—which is typical in West Africa—she can earn more than $1,000 a year, versus the extremepoverty line of about $700 a year.

They help keep children healthy.Malnutrition[營(yíng)養(yǎng)不良]kills more than 3.1 million children a year. Although eating more eggs can help fight malnutrition, many farmers with small flocks find that it’s more economical to let the eggs hatch, sell the chicks, and use the money to buy nutritious food. Or if a farmer’s flock is big enough to give her extra eggs, she can then cook them for her family.

Theyempower[授權(quán)]women. Because chickens are small and typically stay closeto home, many cultures regard them as a woman’s animal, in contrast to largerlivestock[牲畜]like goats or cows. Women who sell chickens are likely to reinvest the profits in their families.

When I was growing up, chickens weren’t something you studied—they were something you made silly jokes about. It has been eyeopening for me to learn what a difference they can make in the fight against poverty. It sounds funny, but I mean it when I say that I am excited about chickens.

這是一篇非常標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的議論文，有著脈絡(luò)清晰的總分總結(jié)構(gòu)，大家在平時(shí)的寫作中完全可以學(xué)以致用：蓋茨先以一個(gè)問句開頭，引起讀者往下閱讀的興趣，然后通過回答問題來概括自己的觀點(diǎn)；接著從四個(gè)方面具體論述，每段第一句就是一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)明扼要的分論點(diǎn)；最后進(jìn)行總結(jié)，稍微幽上一默。另外，文中提到不少和“雞”有關(guān)的表達(dá)，同學(xué)們不妨自行歸納，這是擴(kuò)充詞匯量的好辦法哦！

如果你每天只能靠?jī)擅涝s合人民幣13.79元）生活，你會(huì)做些什么來改善自己的生計(jì)呢？

對(duì)于今天依然生活在極度貧困中的近十億人來說，這是一個(gè)非常現(xiàn)實(shí)的問題。誠(chéng)然，要解決這個(gè)問題，并沒有一個(gè)放之四海而皆準(zhǔn)的辦法；在不同地區(qū)，貧困的表現(xiàn)形式也是千差萬(wàn)別的。不過，通過與蓋茨基金會(huì)的合作，我清楚地認(rèn)識(shí)到這么一點(diǎn)：只要這些處于極度貧困的人開始養(yǎng)雞，他們的日子就會(huì)好過很多。

家雞容易打理，成本低廉。許多雞種很雜食，在地上找到的東西都能吃下去。你需要給母雞搭個(gè)棚子，好讓它們筑巢。隨著雞群的壯大，你也許還要用木頭和線纜建個(gè)雞舍。家雞需要打的疫苗也不多，這方面的花銷并不大。

養(yǎng)雞是一項(xiàng)很好的投資。假設(shè)一個(gè)養(yǎng)雞新手剛開始有五只母雞，她的一位鄰居養(yǎng)了一只公雞，可以給雞蛋受精。三個(gè)月之后，她就能擁有40只小雞。在西非，一只雞通常能賣五美元（約合人民幣34.34元），如此一來，這個(gè)雞農(nóng)一年下來賺到的錢將超過1000美元（約合人民幣6868.8元），而極度貧困線的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是一年700美元（約合人民幣4808.16元）左右。

養(yǎng)雞能讓兒童健康成長(zhǎng)。每年有310萬(wàn)兒童死于營(yíng)養(yǎng)不良。盡管提高雞蛋攝入量可以有效對(duì)抗?fàn)I養(yǎng)不良問題，但許多雞農(nóng)擁有的雞只數(shù)量并不多，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)更劃算的做法是孵化雞蛋，把小雞賣掉，再用賺到的錢去購(gòu)買有營(yíng)養(yǎng)的食物。如果一個(gè)雞農(nóng)養(yǎng)了一大群雞，能夠給她提供一些多余的雞蛋，她就可以給自己的家人加加餐了。

養(yǎng)雞有助于女性的賦權(quán)。由于雞只體型較小，通常養(yǎng)在家附近，因此在多種文明中，相較于體型更大的山羊、奶牛等牲口，家雞常常被視為“婦女之友”。女性更有可能把賣雞獲得的收入重新花在家人身上。

從小到大，雞并不是大家研究的目標(biāo)，而是拿來開些愚蠢玩笑的對(duì)象。這種動(dòng)物竟然能在對(duì)抗貧困的問題上起到如此重要的作用，這真是讓我大開眼界。這話聽起來也許有點(diǎn)逗，但是養(yǎng)雞確實(shí)讓我無比興奮——我是說真的。