If you can potty-train(坐便训练) a child, you can potty-train a cow. At least, that was the theory a group of researchers in Germany decided to test. Farmed cattle produce roughly 66—88 pounds of waste and 8 gallons of urine(尿) each day and are free to relieve themselves where they please. However, the spread of their waste into the soil can have negative effects on the environment.

A team of scientists from FBN and FLI in Germany and the University of Auckland in New Zealand began to potty-train the little cows, in the process they called “MooLoo training”. In the first phase of training, the cattle were put in a closed public toilet. And whenever they urinated, they were given a reward. “Once they were allowed outside, the little cows would go in the toilet to get their reward, but they soon learned that there’s only a reward if they urinate.” FBN’s Neele Dirksen, first author of the study, told CNN.

To encourage little cows to use the toilets, researchers also came up with a punishment. “We first used in-ear headphones and we played a very unpleasant sound whenever they urinated outside,” said Langbein. “We thought this would punish the animals, but they didn’t care. Ultimately, a splash(溅泼) of water on them worked well as a gentle punishment.” The little cows were trained for 45 minutes every other day. And after 10 training days, the team managed to successfully train 11 out of the 16 little cows involved in the experiment, which was more than they had expected.

The results showed that little cows performed at a similar level to children when learning to potty-train, and did better than very young children. “It is possible to potty-train little cows,” Langbein said, “I hope that in a few years all cows will go to a toilet.”

【小题1】Why did researchers potty-train the cattle?

A．To test cattle’s level of intelligence.

B．To spread the cattle’s waste into the soil.

C．To prevent cattle from producing more waste.

D．To avoid the environment damage caused by cow’s waste.

【小题2】How did the researchers train the cattle to urinate in the toilet?

A．By sending signals.	B．By rewarding them.
C．By starving them.	D．By controlling remotely.

【小题3】What is workable to punish the cattle urinating outside the toilet?

A．Striking them on the ear.	B．Scaring them by loud noises.
C．Splashing water on them.	D．Locking them up.

【小题4】What do researchers think of the result of the study?

A．It is unexpected.	B．It is abnormal.
C．It is disappointing.	D．It is reasonable.