Dung to Death1[理工类职称英语教材]
Fields across Europe are contaminated with dangerous levels of the antibiotics given to farm animals.The drugs,which are in manure sprayed onto fields as fertilizers,could be getting into our food and water,helping to create a new generation of antibiotic-resistant“superbugs”.2
The warning comes from a researcher in Switzerland who looked at levels of the drugs in farm slurry. 1
Some 20,000 tons of antibiotics are used in the European Union and the US each year.More than half are given to farm-animals to prevent disease and promote growth. 2
Most researchers assumed that humans become infected with the resistant strains by eating contaminated meat.3 But far more of the drugs end up in manure than in meat products, says Stephen Mueller of the Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology in Dubendorf. 3 .
With millions of tons of animals manure spread onto fields of crops such as wheat and barley each year, this pathway seems an equally likely route for spreading resistance,4 he said.The drugs contaminate the crops,which are then eaten. 4
Mueller is particularly concerned about a group of antibiotics called sulphonamides. 5 . His analysis found that Swiss farm manure contains a high percentage of sulphonamides；each hectare of field could be contaminated with up to 1 kilogram of the drugs.This concentration is high enough to trigger the development of resistance among bacteria.5 But vets are not treating the issue seriously.
There is growing concern at the extent to which drugs, including antibiotics, are polluting the environment.Many drugs given to humans are also excreted unchanged and are not broken down by conventional sewage treatment.
词汇：
antibiotic n.抗生素 barley n.大麦
degrade v.衰减 vet n.兽医
slurry n.泥浆 sulphonamide n.磺胺
dissolve v.溶解 excrete v.排泄
注释：
1.dung to death：施肥致死，dung这个词原为名词,意为“牲畜的粪便、粪肥”,这里作动词用,意为“施以粪肥”。
2.…create a new generation of antibiotic-resistant“superbugs”：……产生新一代对抗生素有抗药性的“超级病菌”。
3.…humans become infected with the resistant strains by eating contaminated meat：……吃了受到污染的肉, 人也会传染上这种有抗药性的菌株。strain一词在微生物学里指“菌株”。
4.…this pathway seems an equally likely route for spreading resistance：这一途径似乎同样可能传播抗药性。
5.This concentration is high enough to trigger the development of resistance among bacteria：这一浓度高得足以促使细菌形成抗药性。这一浓度(This concentration)指前一句中说的在瑞士农场,每公顷农田受到高达1千克药物的污染。
练习：
A They do not easily degrade or dissolve in water.
B And manure contains especially high levels of bugs t
