解放军文职招聘考试Raising Oysters

 Raising Oysters

In the past oysters were raised in much the same way as dirt farmers raised

tomatoes - by transplanting them.    First, farmers selected the oyster

bed, cleared the bottom of old shells and other debris, then scattered

clean     shells about. Next, they "planted" fertilized oyster eggs, which

within two or three weeks hatched into larvae.       The larvae drifted until

they attached themselves to the clean shells on the bottom. There they

remained and in time grew into baby oysters called seed or spat. The spat

grew larger by drawing in seawater from which they    derived microscopic

particles  of food. Before  long, farmers gathered  the  baby oysters,

transplanted  them in  other waters to speed up their growth, then

transplanted them once more into another body of water to fatten them up.

Until recently the supply of wild oysters and those crudely farmed were

more than enough to satisfy people's needs.

But  today the delectable seafood is  no longer available in abundance. The

 problem has become so serious that some    oyster beds have vanished

entirely.

Fortunately, as far back as the early 1900's marine biologists realized

that if new measures were  not  taken,   oysters  would  become  extinct  or 

at  best  a  luxury  food.  So  they  set  up well-equipped hatcheries and

went to work.     But they did not have the proper equipment or the skill to

handle the eggs. They did not know when, what, and how to feed the larvae.

And they knew little about the predators that attack and eat baby oysters

by the millions. They failed, but they doggedly kept at it. Finally, in the

1940's a significant breakthrough was made.

The marine biologists discovered that  by raising the  temperature of the

water,  they could induce oysters to spawn    not only in the summer but also

in the fall, winter, and spring. Later they developed a technique for

feeding the  larvae and rearing them to spat. Going still further, they

succeeded in breeding new strains that were resistant to diseases, grew

faster and larger, and flourished  in  water of different salinities and

temperatures. In addition,      the  cultivated oysters tasted better!

饲养牡蛎

过去人们饲养牡蛎的方式很大程度上类似于田地里的农夫种植蕃茄--通过移植来饲养 它们。

首先，农夫选好牡蛎苗床，清除底部的旧壳和其它杂物，然后四处撒播干净的壳。 接 着，他们"栽种"已受精的牡蛎卵。  这些卵在 2～3 周内会孵化成幼贝。

 幼贝一直漂流直到 粘在苗床底部干净的壳上为止。 它们会呆在那儿并逐渐长成小牡蛎。 我们称之为种子或贝

苗。 贝苗吸进海水中的微小生物作为食物从而越长越大。 不久之后，农夫将这些小牡蛎收

集起来，把它们移种进其他的水域加快其生长，然后再次将它们移种进另外的水域以使其肥 壮起来。 直到最近，野生的以及人工饲养的牡蛎完全能够满足人们的需要。

但是今天这种 可口的海味已不再大量存在。这个问题已经变得如此严重以至于一些牡蛎苗床已完全消失。 幸运的是，早在 20

世纪初期海洋生物学家们就意识到如果不采取新的措施，牡蛎将会灭绝 或至少会变为一种奢侈的食品。 因此他们建造了装备良好的孵卵场所并开始工作。 但是他

们尚没有适当的装置或技术来处理牡蛎卵。他们不知道何时、用什么以及如何喂养幼贝。他 们对捕食数百万幼小牡蛎的动物天敌也所知无几。

他们失败了，但他们顽强地坚持了下来。 终于，在 20 世纪 40 年代，一个重要的突破性的进展产生了。  海洋生物学家发现，升高水

温能够诱导牡蛎不仅在夏季也在秋季、冬季和春季里产卵。  后来他们发展了一项技术来喂 养幼贝至其长成贝苗。 

他们进一步成功地培养出了新的品种，可以抵抗疾病、长得更快、 更大并且在不同的盐度和温度的水中都能茁壮生长。  此外，这些培殖出的牡蛎口感更佳!