新西兰英语 60 Biosecurity

　　Anyone who arrives in New Zealand by plane knows about Biosecurity NZ. Bio means ‘living’ and security means safe. Biosecurity NZ is a government department. Their job is to make our country safe from unwanted living pests. These pests are plants, animals and diseases that come from other countries. Because New Zealand is isolated¹ and surrounded by sea, we think we have a good chance of keeping out unwanted pests. When you arrive, you have to fill in a form to show you don’t have any plant or animal products from another country.
However, sometimes unwanted pests come in shipping² containers and sometimes these pests are just very small insect eggs which are hard to see. These can hatch³ out to cause serious problems in our country. A few years ago, we had a moth⁴, the Painted Apple Moth, in Auckland. This moth eats trees like native trees in our forests. So Biosecurity NZ sprayed parts of Auckland from the air by plane which made some people very angry. But the moths⁵ have gone.
The varroa bee mite⁶ is a little insect that kills bees. It was first found in New Zealand in the North Island, in 2000. Perhaps it came here in a shipping container. Biosecurity NZ tried to stop it from spreading to the rest of New Zealand by stopping beekeepers from moving bees from one area to another. But two years ago, the varroa mite was found in the north of the South Island. Again Biosecurity NZ tried to control the spread but today, the Minister of Agriculture, announced that it is impossible to stop it now. The varroa mite is probably everywhere in New Zealand.
This is bad news for our economy. Honey is an important product but bees are even more important because they pollinate crops. Without bees, many plants will not grow seeds or fruit. Clover is a small green plant with a white flower that grows along with grass in fields. Clover is important to the farmer because it belongs to the same family as peas and beans: these all fix nitrogen in the soil. Clover needs bees for pollination⁷.
Biosecurity will now spend money on research to kill the varroa mite but no country has been successful in getting rid of the varroa.

1 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

2 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

3 hatch   

n.孵化，舱口；vt.孵，孵出，策划；vi. 孵化

参考例句：

• No one knows how the new plan will hatch out.谁也不知道这新方案将怎样制订出来。
• The bird mistook the pebble for egg and tried to hatch it.这只鸟错把卵石当蛋，想去孵它。

4 moth   

n.蛾，蛀虫

参考例句：

• A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
• The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。

5 moths   

n.蛾( moth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moths have eaten holes in my wool coat. 蛀虫将我的羊毛衫蛀蚀了几个小洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The moths tapped and blurred at the window screen. 飞蛾在窗帘上跳来跳去，弄上了许多污点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 mite   

n.极小的东西；小铜币

参考例句：

• The poor mite was so ill.可怜的孩子病得这么重。
• He is a mite taller than I.他比我高一点点。

7 pollination   

n.授粉

参考例句：

• The flowers get pollination by insects.这些花通过昆虫授粉。
• Without sufficient pollination,the growth of the corn is stunted.没有得到充足的授粉，谷物的长势就会受阻。