美国国家公共电台 NPR--Sri Lanka hopes its tea exports may play a role in its economic recovery

Sri Lanka hopes its tea exports may play a role in its economic recovery

Transcript¹

Sri Lanka is paying some foreign debts with tea, rather than cash. But an abrupt² ban on chemical fertilizers has hurt crop yields and tea pickers are losing hours and wages as food prices double.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Sri Lanka has been drawing global attention for sky-high inflation, fuel shortages and civil unrest. But historically, Sri Lanka has been famous for its tea, ever since the British first planted it there two centuries ago. Now officials in Sri Lanka hope its famous export may play a role in its economic recovery. NPR's Lauren Frayer reports from the tea fields of central Sri Lanka.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHICKEN CLUCKING)

LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE³: Kala Subramaniam shuffles⁴ through rows of tea bushes, plucking off the freshest green leaves. She's a dainty woman with giant, gnarled hands. This work is tough, especially during monsoon⁵ rains.

KALA SUBRAMANIAM: (Speaking Tamil).

FRAYER: As you're plucking the tea, you're also plucking leeches⁶ off your legs.

SUBRAMANIAM: (Speaking Tamil).

FRAYER: Sri Lanka's famous Ceylon tea is one of this island's biggest exports. But tea plantation⁷ workers are some of its poorest - passed over by recent decades of economic growth and hardest hit by the crisis now.

SUBRAMANIAM: (Speaking Tamil).

FRAYER: Subramaniam, a mother of two, says she's had her hours and wages cut in half this year, just as food prices nearly doubled.

Sri Lanka's economy has collapsed⁸ because of inflation and rising energy prices, but also mismanagement from politicians. The biggest blunder, tea workers say, was a ban last year on buying chemical fertilizers from overseas, where most of the country's fertilizer comes from. The government did it to save money, but the fertilizer ban devastated⁹ agriculture. Yields plummeted¹⁰. Sri Lanka grew less food and less tea.

(SOUNDBITE OF TEA POURING)

ROSHAN RAJADURAI: We have lost 20% of the crop compared to last year.

FRAYER: Roshan Rajadurai heads Sri Lanka's tea planters' association, and he's frustrated¹¹. Rather than suffering like this, the tea industry has the capacity to revive the whole economy, he says.

RAJADURAI: We are the tea nation of the world. Sri Lankan tea fetches the highest price in all global auctions¹². More than 10% of our population is linked or dependent with the tea industry.

FRAYER: The Sri Lankan government has belatedly woken up to that, Rajadurai says. It's now reversed its fertilizer ban and come up with a novel idea - to pay down the country's foreign debt, at least in part, with shipments of tea rather than cash. This past winter, Sri Lanka used tea to barter¹³ with Iran for a quarter billion dollars' worth of much-needed oil. To keep doing that, though, Sri Lanka has to boost tea production.

I smell the tea in this room. What happens here?

SANGEETHA PUSHPARAJ: Here, this is the cleaning machine - the stalks, fibers¹⁴, stems.

FRAYER: Sangeetha Pushparaj shows me around the tea processing plant where she works.

I mean, electricity, rolling blackouts - is it affecting you?

PUSHPARAJ: Yeah. When we get a power fail, we use the generators¹⁵.

FRAYER: But that takes diesel¹⁶ - diesel fuel...

PUSHPARAJ: Yeah, yeah, diesel fuel.

FRAYER: ...Which you have to wait in line for.

PUSHPARAJ: Yeah.

FRAYER: Because of fuel rationing¹⁷, Sri Lankans are waiting in line for hours, often days. As the government procures¹⁸ more fuel, it is allocating¹⁹ some directly to the tea estates. But hospitals and other essential services come first.

Back out at the tea fields, Subramaniam, the plantation worker, picks tea by day, and then waits in line by night for cooking gas.

SUBRAMANIAM: (Speaking Tamil).

FRAYER: She says she still drinks Ceylon tea every day, and she's proud to be part of this historic industry. The thing is, she can no longer afford milk powder, so she drinks her tea black now.

Lauren Frayer, NPR News, in the tea fields of Hatton, Sri Lanka.

(SOUNDBITE OF SKINSHAPE'S "RUBBER GLOVES")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 shuffles   

n.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的名词复数 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的第三人称单数 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼

参考例句：

• She shuffles cards expertly, all the guys stare in amazement. 她熟练地洗着牌，爷们都看呆了。 来自互联网
• Fortune shuffles cards, but we discard them. 命运负责洗牌，而出牌的是我们自己。 来自互联网

5 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

6 leeches   

n.水蛭( leech的名词复数 )；蚂蟥；榨取他人脂膏者；医生

参考例句：

• The usurers are leeches;they have drained us dry. 高利贷者是吸血鬼，他们吸干了我们的血汗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Does it run in the genes to live as leeches? 你们家是不是遗传的，都以欺压别人为生？ 来自电影对白

7 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

8 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

9 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

10 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 auctions   

n.拍卖，拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They picked up most of the furniture at auctions in country towns. 他们大部分的家具都是在乡村镇上的拍卖处买的。 来自辞典例句
• Our dealers didn't want these cars, so we had to dump them at auctions. 我们的承销商都不要这些车子，因此我们只好贱价拍卖。 来自辞典例句

13 barter   

n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• They have arranged food imports on a barter basis.他们以易货贸易的方式安排食品进口。

14 fibers   

光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质

参考例句：

• Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上，以硫酸钠为凝固剂，对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝，制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。
• Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。

15 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

17 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。

18 procures   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的第三人称单数 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• No doubt, it is his wife who procures his death. 毫不疑问，是他的妻子促成他的死亡。 来自辞典例句
• The Marine Department designs, procures and maintains all government vessels. 海事处负责设计、采购和维修所有政府船舶。 来自互联网

19 allocating   

分配，分派( allocate的现在分词 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面，行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
• A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。