环球英语 — 41：Nile Perch

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Elizabeth Lickiss.
Voice 2
And I’m Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight¹. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
What are you wearing on your feet right now? Maybe you are wearing plastic summer shoes. Or maybe you are wearing soft shoes made of cloth. Are you wearing strong leather shoes made from animal skin? Footwear comes in many shapes and sizes. But one thing is sure. You are probably not wearing shoes made from fish. But one day you may. Brightly coloured fish skin shoes are becoming very popular in the African city of Kampala, Uganda.
Voice 2
A company called Crane² owns the shoe factory. One of the workers in the factory is Innocent³ Rwabuky. Innocent makes the shoes a perfect fit. He places a piece of paper on the floor. The man buying the shoes stands on the paper. Innocent then makes the shape of the man’s feet on the paper. Innocent will use these feet shapes to make the shoes. He takes the man into another room - the tannery. Here the fish skins are hanging up. Innocent has coloured the skins red, green, yellow and blue. In fact Innocent will create any colour you want. It is hard to choose which colour is best. And, although the shoes are made of fish skin they do not smell. Innocent says,
Voice 3
‘Do not worry, you will not end up with fishy⁴ feet! The shoes are good to wear. And they will be ready within twenty-four hours’.
Voice 1
Innocent uses Nile Perch⁵ fish to make the shoes. He takes them from the nearby Lake Victoria. The Nile Perch have not always been present in the lake. People released⁶ them into the water fifty years ago. It was part of an experiment. The experiment was to create a new industry for local people. But many people were concerned at the time. They believed that the Nile fish would eat other local fish. They have been proved right. Many smaller kinds of fish have disappeared. In the past, seventy percent of fish in Lake Victoria were Haplochromis - small boney fish. But over the past fifty [50] years that has decreased to one per cent. Nile Perch can grow up to two metres long. They can weigh two hundred kilograms⁷ [200kg]. They have competed with the other fish for survival⁸ - and they have won!
Voice 2
The United⁹ Nations Industrial Development Organisation¹⁰ started the shoe factory. The factory now produces more than one thousand [1000] sets of shoes each month. But the people at the factory are not just making shoes. They have started to design other things. Now you can buy a fish belt to tie around your waist¹¹. Women can choose a handbag to carry their money and documents.
Voice 1
But it is not all good news. Karen Onyango lives in the town of Kisumu, Kenya. She too depends on the Nile Perch fish. She is a fish drier. Karen waits by a truck carrying fish. The truck driver is taking them to the fish factories in Kisumu. Karen is gathering¹² remains¹³ of Nile Perch. These are the pieces of fish that the factories do not want. She will spend the whole day preparing the fish - cutting, drying and cooking. Then, at night, she will sell the pieces of fish by the roadside.
Voice 2
But today there are less and less fish for her to collect. Karen fears that the lake is being over-fished. Big industries are fishing. They take huge numbers of fish from the waters. They export the good fish to other countries. The industry is worth one hundred and forty million [140,000,000] dollars each year. Karen is concerned. She fears that there will not be enough fish for local people. She says,
Voice 4
‘They are taking everything. Someone like me cannot even get one single fish’.
Voice 1
Richard Abila has been studying the Nile Perch. He is an expert on Lake Victoria. He says that in the beginning Nile Perch fishing was like a gold mine. Suddenly the lake was producing large fish. People could sell the fish in large amounts. Everyone wanted a part of this business. Some people made a lot of money. So why are these people still not rich? Bernard Onyango is a local fisherman. He remembers those times. He says,
Voice 5
‘People got lots of money - but some of them did not plan well. That is why many people living near the lake are still poor. They spent the money. They did not think of the future’.
Voice 1
It is a difficult situation. Once there was a lot of money in the area. People had a chance to live a good life. But now a lack of fish is causing problems. Some women are selling their bodies for sex. It is the only way they can survive. As a result diseases¹⁴ and viruses¹⁵ like HIV are becoming more common. The lake borders Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. The lack of fish has now produced competition between the fishing communities. Uganda has tried to control the amount of fish taken from the lake. But other countries have been less willing¹⁶ to do so. Newspapers often report violence¹⁷ between the fishermen.
Voice 2
The get ‘rich quick experience’ of many who live in the area has not brought happiness. They have found it hard to deal with having a lot of money. They have failed to plan for the future. They have not made wise decisions. The companies that continue to over-fish the lake are experiencing problems too. Soon they will take so many fish from the lake that it will not recover. Then everyone will suffer Karen, the shoe factory and all those in the fishing industry.
Voice 1
Richard Abila believes that releasing¹⁸ the Nile Perch into Lake Victoria was good. It did destroy other sorts of fish. But it has been good for the local population. It has provided¹⁹ work, money and industry. It has produced much wealth. But wealth also comes with responsibility²⁰. Richard is now working with governments and officials in the fish industry. Together they are working to keep Lake Victoria healthy. They are researching the needs of the local population. Richard is sure that with careful control it will be possible to produce a good result for everyone.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 crane   

v.伸长(脖子)；n.起重机，吊车

参考例句：

• We used a crane to lift the piano into the theatre.我们使用起重机将钢琴搬进剧场。
• Must we wait till the crane arrives before we start loading?非要等起重机来了才能装运吗？

3 innocent   

adj.无罪的，清白的；无害的；天真的，单纯的

参考例句：

• I'm not quite so innocent as to believe that.我还不至于简单到相信那种事的地步。
• I was very young,and very innocent.我那时非常年轻，幼稚无知。

4 fishy   

adj. 值得怀疑的

参考例句：

• It all sounds very fishy to me.所有这些在我听起来都很可疑。
• There was definitely something fishy going on.肯定当时有可疑的事情在进行中。

5 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

6 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

7 kilograms   

n.千克( kilogram的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 2 kilograms of rice 2公斤大米
• Every tonne of coal contains,on average,30 kilograms of nitrogen. 每吨煤平均含30公斤氮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

9 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

10 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

11 waist   

n.腰，腰部，腰身，背心

参考例句：

• The coat is a bit tight at the waist.这件上衣腰身瘦了点。
• The sound is from the waist of a violin.声音是从小提琴的中间部分发出的。

12 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

15 viruses   

n. 病毒

参考例句：

• This is a new kind of viruses in the computer. 这是一种新的电脑病毒。
• All bacteria are larger than viruses. 所有细菌都比病毒大。

16 willing   

adj.愿意的，自愿的，乐意的，心甘情愿的

参考例句：

• We never lack food and clothing if we're willing to work.如果我们愿意工作,就不会缺吃少穿。
• He's quite willing to pay the price I ask.他很愿意照我的要价付钱。

17 violence   

n.暴力，暴虐，暴行，猛烈，强烈，强暴

参考例句：

• It was an absolutely senseless act of violence.这是毫无意义的暴力行为。
• They attacked with violence.他们猛烈攻击。

18 releasing   

v.释放( release的现在分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• Releasing his arm, she laid her hand upon his shoulder. 她放掉他的胳膊，却把手放到了他的肩上。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• The drag operation is still terminated by releasing the mouse button. 释放鼠标按键时，拖动操作将立即终止。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

19 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

20 responsibility   

n.责任，职责

参考例句：

• The safety of the ship is the captain's responsibility.确保船的安全是船长的责任。
• The matter is outside my area of the responsibility.此事超出我的责任范围。