VOA慢速英语2009年-Agriculture Report - An International

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Some pirates¹ catch fish instead of ships. The problem is known as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Such fishing harms the productivity² of fisheries, and hurts developing countries especially.

The fish pirates can easily land in ports that are not well controlled. Then they sell their catch at prices too low for the local fishing industry to compete. The catch may enter international markets, yet rob communities of needed food and raise the risk of fishery collapse³.

But last month, the governing conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization approved a new treaty. The agreement, once it takes effect, will be the first under international law to target just this problem.

It has a long name: the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter⁴ and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. The F.A.O. says that by signing the treaty, governments promise to take steps to guard their ports against ships involved in such fishing.

The behavior of a fishing boat is mainly the responsibility of the nation whose flag it flies. The new treaty is directed at countries where fishing ships enter port. The aim is to get the countries to identify, report and deny entry to offending vessels⁵.

To land, foreign fishing ships will have to request permission from ports that are able to inspect them. And before they arrive, they will have to send information on their activities and the fish they are carrying. If a ship is denied entry, other ports will be told. And the nation whose flag it is sailing under must take action.

The agreement will take effect once twenty-five countries have ratified⁶ it into law after signing it. Eleven members of the Food and Agriculture Organization immediately signed the treaty. They included Angola, Brazil, Chile, the European Union, Indonesia and Iceland. The others were Norway, Samoa, Sierra Leone, the United States and Uruguay.

Activists⁷ with the Pew Environment Group say countries should use the measures even before the treaty takes effect. The group notes that a past fishing treaty took almost ten years to come into force.

But the director of international law programs at Southern Illinois University is more hopeful. Cindy Buys thinks the treaty might take effect in only about a year. But she points out that the success of the treaty depends on the ability of nations to enforce it.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. You can find transcripts⁸ at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Jim Tedder⁹.
 

1 pirates   

n.海盗( pirate的名词复数 )；剽窃者；侵犯版权者；非法播音的人（或组织）

参考例句：

• Children dressed (themselves) up as pirates. 孩子们假扮成海盗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The pirates treated their captives with barbarity. 海盗们残暴地对待他们的俘虏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 productivity   

n.生产力，生产率，多产

参考例句：

• Farmers are introducing in novations which increase the productivity.农民们正引进提高生产力的新方法。
• The workers try to put up productivity.工人设法提高生产率。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

9 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网