VOA慢速英语2009-Agriculture Report - Do-It-Yourself: Compost

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Compost is a dark, rich material added to soil to improve it. Compost is produced when bacteria and fungi¹ break down organic matter, aided by insects, earthworms and other organisms. This natural recycling returns nutrients² to the soil. Some experts advise adding five centimeters of compost for every fifteen centimeters of turned soil.
　
Homemade compost that is made from kitchen and garden waste

More and more people are making their own compost at home. Composting can reduce the amount of garden and cooking waste that would otherwise go into public landfills.

Monica David from the University of Illinois Extension oversees³ the master gardeners program in her state. She explains that you can make a compost pile or dig a pit or use a waste container with holes cut in the side.

There are different methods of composting. Some take more work. Others take almost no work but may require waiting up to a year.

Advice about composting can be found from extension services, at garden centers, in books and on the Internet.

For example, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation lists some dos and don'ts of composting on its Web site:

Do add lime, small amounts of wood ashes or crushed eggshells to the compost pile. This will neutralize⁴ acids which may form and cause a bad smell.

Do mix grass cuttings with other wastes to loosen them up. And do keep the compost pile damp, especially during dry periods.

Do not use unfinished compost. It will rob plants of nitrogen instead of acting⁵ as a fertilizer.

Do not compost weedy plants with lots of seeds. Some seeds will not be killed during the natural heating process in composting.

Do not add meat, fish bones or fatty food wastes to the compost mixture. Protein materials do not readily decompose⁶ and they will bring animals.

And, finally, do not add diseased vegetable plants to the pile if the compost will be used on a vegetable garden. Disease organisms may reappear if you do.

Compost differs from mulch but it can be used as mulch. Mulch is placed on top of soil to protect it. Mulch is generally used to a height of about ten centimeters. But finer materials such as compost should only be two and a half to seven and a half centimeters high. Too much mulch can restrict oxygen and water flow.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For composting links, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Bob Doughty⁷.

 

1 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

2 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

4 neutralize   

v.使失效、抵消，使中和

参考例句：

• Nothing could neutralize its good effects.没有什么能抵消它所产生的好影响。
• Acids neutralize alkalis and vice versa.酸能使碱中和碱，亦能使酸中和。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 decompose   

vi.分解；vt.（使）腐败，（使）腐烂

参考例句：

• The eggs began to decompose after a day in the sun.鸡蛋在太阳下放了一天后开始变坏。
• Most animals decompose very quickly after death.大多数动物死后很快腐烂。

7 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。