美国有线新闻 CNN 2015-04-10

 Welcome to CNN Student News, commercial-free current events for middle and high school classrooms.

 

This Wednesday, April 8th, we're starting with news involving the U.S. and Cuba. Along with Iran, Sudan and Syria, Cuba is on the U.S. government's list of countries that sponsor terrorism. It's been on that list since 1982 because Cuba's government was helping¹ communist rebels in Latin America and Africa. But last year, President Obama announced the U.S. would work toward normalizing relations with Cuba, toward breaking down barriers from the cold war. Cuba wants off the terrorism sponsor list. And the U.S. State Department is considering recommending that. U.S. officials say President Obama's still concerned about Cuba's record on human rights and Cuban officials have warned the U.S. not to meddle² with their government.

 

Stateside, in an announcement yesterday by U.S. Senator Rand Paul. He's running for president on the Republican ticket. The Kentucky senator became the second person to announce his candidacy, but the field is expected to grow in the months ahead.

 

Last January, California's governor declared a state of emergency that was years in the making. A drought that is literally³ changing landscapes in California. With water restrictions⁴ in place, some folks are spray-painting their brown lawns green, or replacing their grass with artificial turf to keep a green look. Some pools are being filled in. Desert-style landscaping is popping up. These are all effects on the surface, but what's happening in California could have a ripple⁵ effect across the country and beyond.

 

So just how bad is this history drought? Well, it's not just hitting California. This is a problem across the American West.

 

Take a look at this map. The darker the color, the drier it is. In fact, one study shows, this is the worst drought in the state of California in 1,200 years. The drought is affecting about 50 million people so far.

 

Without the snow melt, the drought is going to persist. So far, we're in our fourth year of drought and scientists say we need about 11 trillion gallons of rainwater to get us out of this crisis.

 

So just how much water is that? Well, CNN calculated, you had to have enough water to fill the Dallas Cowboys stadium 14,000 times.

 

So what are we gonna do about it? We're gonna basically have to change our behavior. One example, changing over from water-thirsty grass lawns to something like this, drought-resistant xeriscape landscapes. The government wants to change over 50 million square feet of California lawns. And they're paying homeowners to do it.

 

And then there's California's biggest water user, the agricultural industry. The Central Valley is known as the "salad bowl" of the world, providing more than 50% of America's produce and 80% of the world's almonds.

 

The federal government allocates⁶ water to California farms and their allotment has been cut to zero because of the drought. But the state has been criticized for not making major cuts to agriculture. However, farmers are already hurting, some of them having to let major crops die, and hundreds of thousands of acres of land go unused.

 

If you live on the other side of the country, you may not notice anything, at least immediately. But eventually, food prices will go up as California's water resources drop.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

6 allocates   

分配，分派( allocate的第三人称单数 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• The state allocates huge funds for the development of aid-agriculture industries. 国家拨出大批资金，发展支农工业。
• The value that then I create value allocates part to discuss. 于是我把价值创造的价值分配分别开来论述。