VOA慢速英语 2007 0130a

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Looking for some reading material about farming?


Agricultural Research is the science magazine of the US Department of Agriculture

One place to look is the science magazine of the United States Department of Agriculture. The descriptions of work by the department's Agricultural Research Service can be complex. But the monthly magazine, called Agricultural Research, is generally easy to understand without having to be a scientist.

Subjects in January included how researchers in the state of Mississippi have identified tens of thousands of genes¹ in catfish². The American industry in farm-raised catfish is worth billions of dollars. That includes processors, feed producers and other related industries. Learning the secrets of the catfish genome could lead to increased quality and production.

Paid subscriptions³ to Agricultural Research are available for printed copies. But an electronic version of the magazine is free of charge on the Internet. The easiest way to find the address is to do a search for the words Agricultural Research magazine.

Many universities in the United States have agricultural extension services that provide information and advice. The Extension Service at Oregon State University, for example, has a new publication for small farms. This is available online for free at smallfarms.oregonstate.edu.

The Fruit Growers News is a monthly publication from the Great American Publishing Company of Sparta, Michigan. Growers get industry news along with advice and information from experts. Some of the articles can be read for free at fruitgrowersnews.com.

The Vegetable Growers News, a related publication at vegetablegrowersnews.com, also offers some of its material free on the Web.

And so does a business magazine from Great American Publishing called Spudman, Voice of the Potato Industry. It deals with new products and methods and tells about research. The Web site is spudman.com.

For almost one hundred twenty-five years, Grit⁴ was a newspaper produced in Pennsylvania. Now Grit is a colorful magazine out of Kansas. It deals with many subjects, from how to care for baby goats to how to choose the right tractor to drive around the farm. These are just two of the stories in the current Grit. Some articles can be read free of charge at grit.com.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Links to all of these publications can be found at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

2 catfish   

n.鲶鱼

参考例句：

• Huge catfish are skinned and dressed by hand.用手剥去巨鲇的皮并剖洗干净。
• We gigged for catfish off the pier.我们在码头以鱼叉叉鲶鱼。

3 subscriptions   

n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助

参考例句：

• Subscriptions to these magazines can be paid in at the post office. 这些杂志的订阅费可以在邮局缴纳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Payment of subscriptions should be made to the club secretary. 会费应交给俱乐部秘书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。