VOA慢速英语2011--Building a Windbreak to Protect Crops

Agriculture Report - Building a Windbreak to Protect Crops

农业报道 - 营造防风林保护庄稼
This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
Soil conservation¹ methods help farmers protect their land from the damage caused by farming² and the forces of nature. One method of soil conservation is the use of windbreaks. Windbreaks are barriers⁴ formed by trees and other plants. Farmers plant these barriers around their fields.
土壤养护办法可以帮助农民防止其土地受到耕作和大自然力量的损害。土壤养护的办法之一是利用防风林。防风林是由树木和其它植物形成的屏障，农民在其农田四周种植防风林。
Windbreaks help prevent the loss⁵ of soil.
防风林有助于防止土壤流失。
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They stop the wind from blowing soil away. They also keep the wind from damaging or destroying crops.
它们可以防止风把土壤吹走，还能防止风损毁庄稼。
Windbreaks can be highly⁶ valuable for protecting grain crops. For example, studies have been done on windbreaks in parts of West Africa. These studies found that grain harvests were as much as twenty percent higher in fields protected by windbreaks compared to fields without them.
防风林在保护粮食作物方面极具价值。例如，关于西非部分地区防风林的研究已经完成。研究发现，与没有防风林的农田相比，防风林保护下的农田的粮食收成增长了20%以上。
But here is something interesting about windbreaks. They seem to work best when they allow some wind to pass through the barrier³ of trees or plants around a field. If not, then the movement of air close to the ground will lift the soil. Then the soil will be blown away.
但关于防风林还有一些有趣的东西。似乎允许部分风穿过农田周围的树木或植物屏障时，防风林起到的效果反而更好。如果不允许风穿过，那么接近地面的风就会吹起土壤，这样土壤就会被风吹走。
For this reason, a windbreak works⁷ best if it contains only sixty to eighty percent of the trees and plants that would be needed to make a solid⁸ line. An easy rule to remember is that windbreaks can protect areas up to ten times the height of the tallest trees in the windbreak.
出于这个原因，如果防风林只包含60%到80%的可以组成一道坚固防线的树木或植物，它所起到的效果最好。要记住一个简单的原则，防风林可以保护的农田范围可以达到其最高树木高度的十倍。
There should be at least two lines in each windbreak. One line should be large trees. The second line, right next to it, can be shorter trees and other plants with leaves. Locally grown trees and plants are considered the best choices for windbreaks.
每片防风林至少要有2行。其中一行是大树，挨近的另一行可以是矮树或其他带叶子的植物。当地生长的树木或植物被认为是防风林的最佳选择。
Studies have shown that some kinds of trees can grow well even if the quality of the land is not very good. One kind of tree is the white pine. Another is the loblolly pine.
有研究表明，某些种类的树木即使在贫瘠的土壤也能生长得很好。其中一种是白松，另一种是火炬松。
Windbreaks not only protect land and crops from the wind. Surplus⁹ trees can be cut down and used or sold for wood.
防风林不仅可以保护土地和农作物免受风灾。多余的树木还能砍下来用作木材或出售。
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Trees reduce the damaging effects of wind and rain. Their roots help protect soil from being washed away. And trees can provide another service for agriculture. They can provide grazing¹⁰ animals with shade from the sun.
树木能够减少风雨的破坏性影响。它们的根系有助于防止土壤流失。同时树木能够为农业提供另一种极具价值的服务，他们能够为放牧牲畜提供荫凉处。
And that's the VOA Special Agriculture Report. You can learn English and stay informed with our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also get more information about windbreaks and other forms of soil conservation at enterpriseworks.org. I'm Jim Tedder¹¹.

 

1 conservation   

n.保存，保持，守恒

参考例句：

• She is interested in conservation of environment.她对环境保护这个问题十分关心。
• Our community is a leader in the conservation of wildlife.我们社区在野生动物保护方面走在前头。

2 farming   

n.农事；耕作

参考例句：

• He lives by farming.他靠务农过活。
• He is farming in Africa.他在非洲经营农场。

3 barrier   

n.栅栏，障碍，壁垒，关卡

参考例句：

• You must show your ticket at the barrier.你在关卡处必须出示许可证。
• The driver jumped a horse over a barrier.骑手骑马跳过障碍。

4 barriers   

n.障碍( barrier的名词复数 )；屏障；栅栏；分界线

参考例句：

• The crowd had to stand behind barriers. 人群只好站在障碍物后面。
• the dissolution of barriers of class and race 阶级和种族隔阂的消除

5 loss   

n.损失，遗失，失败，输，浪费，错过，[军]伤亡，降低

参考例句：

• His death was a great loss to the country.他的逝世对这个国家是一大损失。
• Because of the continued loss,the factory closed down.由于连续亏损，工厂关闭了。

6 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。

7 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

8 solid   

adj.固体的，结实的，可靠的，实心的；n.固体，实心；adv. 一致地

参考例句：

• Water may change from a liquid to a solid.水可以由液体变为固体。
• I know that James is a solid type of person.我知道詹姆斯是个可信赖的人。

9 surplus   

adj.过剩的，多余的；n.过剩，剩余额

参考例句：

• The manufacturers in some countries dumped their surplus commodities abroad.一些国家的制造商向国外倾销过剩产品。
• The surplus steam was blown off through the pipes.多余的蒸气通过管道放掉了。

10 grazing   

n. 放牧, 牧草 动词graze的现在分词

参考例句：

• There were cows grazing beside the river. 有些牛在河边吃草。
• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。

11 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