纪录片《饮食变迁》 第9期:农药的泛滥使用

The time, May 1970.

1970年5月

Here on the island of San Miguel,

位于圣米格尔岛的

the breeding ground for California's

加州海狮繁殖区内

sea-lions, some appear to be killing¹ their young.

竟出现了部分海狮杀害幼崽的画面

These great animals have 17 times more DDT in them

这些体型硕大的动物体内DDT的含量

than officially permitted in fish for human consumption.

竟是官方划定可食鱼类标值的17倍

By the 1970s, it was clear

到了20世纪70年代 人们逐渐认清

that pesticides³ were devastating⁴ wildlife

农药会削弱野生物种的

by crippling reproductive ability and wrecking⁵ nervous systems.

生殖能力与神经系统 造成毁灭性的后果

And we were at the top of the food chain.

而我们人类正处于食物链的顶层

149 persons in California alone have now become ill,

由于误食被杀虫剂污染的西瓜

with hundreds more cases suspected

目前仅在加州已有149人确诊患病

in four other western states and Canada

而在另外四个西部州和加拿大

from eating watermelons contaminated with the pesticide².

还有几百个疑似病例

In the town of McFarland, there have been

在麦克法兰镇有12例儿童癌症病例

12 cases of cancer among children. Six children have died.

其中六名已经死亡

There's a growing suspicion

越来越多人开始怀疑

that it's connected with the spraying of chemicals.

这一切与化学制品的喷洒有关

Children are dying. That's why we're here.

孩子们垂死挣扎 我们必须拯救他们

I've lost children.

我已经失去了我的孩子

Many pesticides were banned in the 1970s

20世纪70年代 许多农药被禁用

and public confidence in the food revolution

公众对食品工业革命的信心

had taken its first serious knock.

第一次蒙受重创

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

3 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

5 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句