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  3. The archivists requested a donkey, but what they got from the mayor’s office

The archivists requested a donkey, but what they got from the mayor’s office

游客2023-12-28  22
问题     The archivists requested a donkey, but what they got from the mayor’s office were four wary black sheep, which, as of Wednesday morning, were chewing away at a lumpy field of grass beside the municipal archives building as the City of Paris’s newest, shaggiest lawn mowers. Mayor Bertrand Delano? has made the environment a priority since his election in 2001, with popular bike- and car-sharing programs, an expanded network of designated lanes for bicycles and buses, and an enormous project to pedestrianize the banks along much of the Seine.
    The sheep, which are to mow (and, not inconsequentially, fertilize) an airy half-acre patch in the 19th District intended in the same spirit. City Hall refers to the project as "eco-grazing, " and it notes that the four ewes will prevent the use of noisy, gas-guzzling mowers and cut down on the use of herbicides.
    Paris has plans for a slightly larger eco-grazing project not far from the archives building, assuming all goes well; similar projects have been under way in smaller towns in the region in recent years.
    The sheep, from a rare, diminutive Breton breed called Ouessant, stand just about two feet high. Chosen for their hardiness, city officials said, they will pasture here until October inside a three-foot-high, yellow electrified fence.
    "This is really not a one-shot deal, " insisted René Dutrey, the adjunct mayor for the environment and sustainable development. Mr. Dutrey, a fast-talking man in orange-striped Adidas Samba sneakers, noted that the sheep had cost the city a total of just about $335, though no further economic projections have been drawn up for the time being.
    A metal fence surrounds the grounds of the archives, and a security guard stands watch at the gate, so there is little risk that local predators—large, unleashed dogs, for instance—will be able to reach the ewes.
    Curious humans, however, are encouraged to visit the sheep, and perhaps the archives, too. The eco-grazing project began as an initiative to attract the public to the archives, and informational panels have been put in place to explain what, exactly, the sheep are doing here.
    “Myself, I wanted a donkey, "said Agnès Masson, the director of the archives, an ultramodern 1990 edifice built of concrete and glass. Sheep, it was decided, would be more appropriate.
    But the archivists have had to be trained to care for the animals. In the unlikely event that a ewe should flip onto her back, Ms. Masson said, someone must rush to put her back on her feet.
选项
答案     巴黎档案馆管理员要的是一只驴，但他们从市长办公室领到的却是四只机敏的黑羊，而截止周四早上，它们都还在档案馆旁一块凹凸不平的草地上吃草，俨然成了巴黎最新潮最蓬乱的割草机。自2011年当选以来，巴黎市长伯特兰.德拉诺就把环境作为一项要务米抓，他推出了颇受欢迎的自行车与汽车道路共享项目，自行车和公交车专用道扩展工程以及在塞纳河两岸大部分地区建设人行道这一巨大工程。
    用这些羊给巴黎第十九区这块半英亩的草地割草（而且重要的是它们还能给草地施肥）的这一想法也基于同样的环保精神。市政厅将这项工程称之为“生态放牧”，并且指出使用四只母羊能省去使用嘈杂、耗油的割草机，减少使用除草剂。
    假如该项工程一切进展顺利，巴黎计划在档案馆大楼不远的地方实施一个比现在这个稍大的生态放牧工程；近年来，类似的生态放牧工程一直都在该区较小城镇展开。
    这种名为Ouessant的羊是布列塔尼羊的一个稀有矮小品种，其站立高度仅约两英尺。市政官员说，这些羊能吃苦耐劳囚而被选中，它们将在三英尺高的黄色电围栏中吃草吃到10月。
    “这并不是一劳永逸之事，"主管环境和可持续发展的副市长René Dutrey这么认为。语速飞快、穿着有橙色条纹的阿迪达斯运动鞋的Dutrey 先生指出，这些羊总共花了巴黎仅约335美元，尽管日前还没有关于这些羊还要花多少开销的预测。
    档案馆旁的草地由金属栅栏围起，档案馆门口还有门卫站岗，所以不存在如未拴的大型犬等本地区的捕食者能够接近这些母羊的风险。
    不过，好奇之人受好奇心驱使会来看这些羊，或许也会看看档案馆。这个生态放牧工程作为一项吸引公众参观档案馆的计划而启动，并且说明性的展板已经被放置好来解释这些羊在这里是做什么的。
    “个人而言，我想要一只驴。”巴黎档案馆馆长Agnès Masson 说道。这座档案馆是一座建于1990年的超现代化的混凝土和玻璃大楼。最终羊被断定更为适合来除草。
    但档案馆管理人员得接受照顾这些羊的训练。Masson女士说，如果出现某只母羊摔成四脚朝天的情况，必须有人立马过去把它扶正，不过这种情况不大可能出现。
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