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The first job was to establish the latrine as the correct place to conduct business.
第一項工作是建立公廁，使其成為排便的正確場所。
Calves were confined to a latrine and rewarded with molasses or crushed barley after peeing in it.
把小牛關在廁所里，小便后給予糖蜜或碾碎的大麥。
Next, they were given the freedom to roam around an alley outside the latrine.
然后，它們可以在廁所外的小巷里自由漫步。
Urinations in the latrine were rewarded; those in the alley were gently punished with a spray of water.
在廁所小便的牛會得到獎勵，在巷子里小便的牛會被水輕噴以表懲罰。
Finally, the alley that led to the latrine was extended, to allow the animals to practise self-control for longer, and over a greater distance.
最后，將通向廁所的小巷延伸，使牛能夠在更長的時間、更遠的距離內練習自我控制小便。
Cows are fairly intelligent animals, and the lessons proved quite effective.
奶牛是相當聰明的動物，結果證明這些訓練是十分有效的。
Of the 16 calves enrolled in the training process, 11 were considered successfully toilet-trained by the end of it.
在參加訓練的16頭小牛中，有11頭在訓練結束時已經能夠成功使用廁所。
Their overall performance, say the researchers, was roughly comparable to that of human children.
研究人員表示，他們的總體表現與人類幼崽大致相當。
The animals managed to pee in the latrine around 77% of the time.
牛兒們在大約77%的時間里都能在廁所里進行小便。
Dr Langbein is optimistic that his methods can be improved further.
朗本博士對此很樂觀，他認為這一方法可以再加改進。
One step would be to extend the principle to faeces, which also contains nitrogen, and is another source of nitrous oxide.
其中一步是將這一原理推廣應用到糞便。糞便中也含有氮，是一氧化二氮的另一來源。
The effectiveness of the training could be boosted too, perhaps with longer-lasting lessons, or by making adjustments to rewards and punishments.
通過延長訓練時間或者調整獎勵和懲罰方式，也許訓練的有效性也可以得到提高。
He notes that the success rate increased after repositioning the water-sprayer used to punish errant animals.
他注意到，在把用來懲罰誤入歧途的小牛的噴水器調整位置后，成功率提高了。
Four out of eight calves were successfully trained before it was moved, compared with seven out of eight afterwards— though the small sample size means this difference is not statistically significant.
在噴水器調整位置前8頭小牛中有4頭訓練成功，而在噴水器調整位置后8頭小牛中有7頭訓練成功。不過樣本量較小，這意味著這種差異在統計上并不顯著。
More research, as always, is required.
一如既往，需要進行更多的研究。
The next step, says Dr Langbein, is to see if cattle on a working farm can be similarly trained.
朗本博士說，下一步是看看農場里的牛是否能夠接受類似訓練。
Whether farmers will be keen is another question.
而農場主們是否會對此感興趣則是另一個問題。
Building toilets and training animals costs time and money, after all.
畢竟，建造廁所和訓練牛需要時間和金錢。
But when it comes to climate change, every little helps.
不過，應對氣候變化，點滴皆有用。
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