2007年VOA慢速英语special200708140041

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.


A warning sign on a path in England near a farm where foot-and-mouth disease was found

Farmers in England have been worried about foot-and-mouth disease among their cows. The viral sickness is one of the world's most destructive diseases of livestock¹. Foot-and-mouth disease does not usually kill animals. But it sickens them and severely² reduces production of meat and milk, resulting in economic disaster.

The current cases of the disease first struck cattle in southern England. At the end of July, a farmer in Surrey noted³ that two of his cows were sick. He reported the news to government health officials. They passed it on to the World Organization for Animal Health.

Agricultural scientists confirmed the first cases of the disease in two animals. The first group of one hundred twenty cows was killed August third. At that time, the government banned export of all livestock, fresh meat and milk products. The ban is expected to remain in place until August twenty-fifth.

About one hundred cattle were killed from a second infected herd⁴ on a farm about three kilometers from the first. A third group of cows was killed last week. Almost six hundred cows have been destroyed so far to prevent the spread of the disease.

Tests of cows on two other farms in Surrey showed no presence of the highly infectious virus. So experts say the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease could be over by the end of the week if no new cases are found. However, they urged farmers to continue to check their cattle for signs of the disease.

British health investigators⁵ believe there is a strong possibility the outbreak started in a research center close to the farms. The center has two laboratories that use the virus for research and to make vaccines⁶. One of the laboratories rejected the claim. It said there is no evidence the virus was transported out of the laboratory by people.

In two thousand one, foot-and-mouth disease cost the British agricultural and tourism industries billions of dollars. More than six million animals were killed. The crisis delayed a general election for a month, canceled many sports events and closed the countryside to visitors.

The disease affects animals such as cows, pigs, goats and sheep. It spreads easily through direct contact among animals. It is also spread by people on clothing and shoes.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm ­­­­Faith Lapidus.

1 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

2 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。