VOA慢速英语 从名字开始了解农田动物

　　Understanding Farm Animals Begins With a Name

　　从名字开始了解农田动物

　　This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

　　Today we harvest some words. We are going to explain some commonly used terms for plants and farm animals. If you miss any, or if you want to test yourself, you can find a transcript and MP3 of our program at voaspecialenglish.com. So here we go. Some plants are annuals. Annuals live only one year or one growing season -- unlike perennials. Perennials last for more than two years. This term is used especially for plants like herbs that produce new growth year after year from the same root structure. People eat herbs, and so do cattle. Among cattle, a bull is a male cow that has not been castrated. A male is called a steer if it had its reproductive organs removed as a calf. A calf is a young cow. A young female cow, especially one that has not yet had a calf, is called a heifer: H-E-I-F-E-R.

　　Cows are like all mammals: they produce milk for their young. This is called lactating. Cows lactate for up to ten months. A dry cow is a cow that is not producing milk. Milk may be homogenized. Homogenization is a process that reduces the size of the fat particles and mixes the fat all through the milk. Otherwise, the fat will collect at the top, which is how some people like it. Some people like products made from sheep's milk. The milk comes from a ewe -- spelled E-W-E. A ewe is a female sheep of any age. Ewes produce lambs. A lamb is a sheep under a year old. Male sheep of any age are called rams.