BBC Learning English - Road Trip - Cambridge story

Michael Beaumont:


Right, I'm Michael Beaumont, I'm the local butcher in Fulbourn. About nine years ago we had a supermarket come quite close to us and to sustain our butchery business, we've gone into cattle production.


We're just unlocking the gate to go onto the meadow, which is obviously behind the church at Teversham, which is quite close to Marshalls airport.



This is Nora… these are a pedigree herd of Limousin; a small herd I've just acquired. The people who had got them had got about three or four different little herds and they wanted to get rid of this one. So, I got this really as my 40th anniversary wedding present, but, er…, (my) wife said 'that's a bit different from the box of chocolates she was going to get me'
[laughter]… I think it came as a bit of a shock for her when I told her I'd actually bought them, but, no, she's accepted them and she likes them as much as I do.


Why we've survived is because we're doing something different to what the supermarkets are.

We can prove that all our… we've got full traceability on all these cattle. That they're all locally produced etcetera. So, it's a way forward for us as a small butcher's shop competing
with the big boys.



My parents were farmers and I was brought up on a farm and had a wonderful childhood on a farm, so, it's obviously virtually bred in you, you know. The idea was to sell as local as possible produce. With the shop we use somewhere between 80 and 90 bullocks a year and I'm very fortunate because, obviously, I produce quite a few of our own and I've got two or
three other little farms. One at Cottenham, another one in Fulbourn (that) my brother in law (runs), and one at Westborne Farm near Fulbourn Hospital.



With my agricultural college experience I was always interested in cattle and, in one way, the supermarket has done me a favour because it's letting me do something else I really like to do. I'm passionate about both; I'm passionate about how the animals are raised, what they're fed on, their welfare and also passionate about the meat I sell.

VOCUBULARY

sustain (MAINTAIN)
verb [T]
1- to cause or allow something to continue for a period of time: - mengekalkan - ekonomi dapat mengekalkan kadar pertumbuhan - memberi tenaga- dia tidak mempunyai makan yang memberi tenaga - menahan - menampung - tiang ini dapat menahan beban itu - pertahankan

......The economy looks set to sustain its growth into next year.
.......He seems to find it difficult to sustain relationships with women.
.......US The judge sustained (= accepted) the lawyer's objection. - menerima - mahkamah menerima usul


2 - to keep alive:
.......The soil in this part of the world is not rich enough to sustain a large population.

meadow
noun [C or U]a field with grass and often wild flowers in it: - padang rumput - lembu2 meragut dipadang rumput

.......We walked through fields and meadows.
.......There was a path through the meadow to the village.


rid
adjective - terlepas daripada - dia gembira terlepas daripada tanggungjawab itu

1- be rid of sth/sb
to not now have an unwanted or unpleasant task, object or person:

.......I didn't enjoy marking those papers and I was glad to be rid of them.


2 get rid of sth
.....to remove or throw away something unwanted:b-
mengelakkan daripada - dia selalu menalipon saya sehingga saya tidak dapat mengelak daripadanya - jauhkan diri - jauhakan diri dari penjual itu - membuang - saya hendak buang buku2 lama itu - menghapuskan - kami dapat menghapuskan tikus2 itu - menghilangkan - cuti betul2 tangan hingga menghilangkan kekotoran -

.....That cream got rid of my skin rash.
......I used weedkiller to get rid of the weeds in the garden.


3 get rid of sth to sell an old or unwanted possession:.....Have you managed to get rid of your old Volvo yet?



survive
verb
1- [I or T] to continue to live or exist, especially after coming close to dying or being destroyed or after being in a difficult or threatening situation - hidup - bayi itu sudah dianggap tidak dapat hidup lama lagi - wujud - adat itu masih wujud lagi - bertahan - jadilah diplomatik jika mahu bertahan lama dalam politik - terselamat - mereka terselamat dalam kejadian bot karam - kedai ini dapat bertahan lama - isterinya hidup lebih tahan lama-

......These plants cannot survive in very cold conditions
.....The family are struggling to survive on very little money. - hidup- dia dapat gaji hanya untuk terus hidup
......"How are you?" "Oh, (I'm) surviving (= life is satisfactory, but not very good)." -

traceable
adjective - possible to trace:

........In theory, most telephone calls should be traceable.
......His medical problems were shown to be traceable to (= to have been caused by) his having been exposed to dangerous chemicals.


et cetera
SPECIALIZED ABBREVIATION FOR et alia: and others.
It is used in formal writing to avoid a long list of names of people who have written something together:

.....The method is described in an article by Feynman et al.


breed
verb bred, bred - berkembang biak - membiak - nyamuk membiak dalam air - menjadi2 - jenayah menjadi2 - didik - membesarkan - mengasih - dia dilahirkan dan dibesarkan sbg lelaki orang bersopan santun - dia dibesarkan dalam tradisi lama

1- [I or T] to keep animals for the purpose of producing young animals in a controlled way, or (of animals) to have sex and reproduce:

.......Terriers are bred for their fighting instincts.
.......The blackbird, like most birds, breeds in the spring.
.....His main income comes from breeding cattle.
.......The family's business was horse-breeding. - noun - pembiakan
..........We used to keep pigs for breeding purposes.
...........The penguins' breeding season has begun.

See also inbred (ESTABLISHED); inbred (RELATED); purebred; thoroughbred; well-bred.

2 - [T] to cause something to happen, usually something bad: menjadi2
.....Favouritism breeds resentment.