VOA慢速英语2012 Agriculture Report - Serving Farm-Fresh Meals -- at the Farm

 

Agriculture Report - Serving Farm-Fresh Meals -- at the Farm

From VOA Learning¹ English, this is the Agriculture Report in Special English.

"Farm to table" is the name of a movement that encourages people to eat locally grown food. The farm-to-table idea has become more popular in recent years. But there is also a group that brings "table to farm." This traveling group is called Outstanding in the Field. It says its mission² is to reconnect people to the land and to honor³ local farmers by creating a sort of restaurant without walls.

"Just even those out with the new table."

Jim Denevan got the idea for this kind of "culinary adventure," as he calls it, ten years ago. He recently prepared tables for more than a hundred people at Briars Farmstead in Virginia. He and his eight-member crew⁴ arrived the night before. Chefs⁶ from a local restaurant prepared the dinner.

"The mission of Outstanding in the Field is to bring people closer to where food comes from and hear the stories directly⁷ from the farmer, walk around and get to know places like this, which are important, I think."

Jim Denevan's brother is a farmer and he himself is a former chef⁵. He thought the idea of a meal served right at the farm made sense, though not everyone agreed.

"But I wanted to make the idea work, so I decided⁸ to cross the country -- I went all the way across the United⁹ States and set the table in farms and ranches¹⁰ and on beaches, and all the places where food comes from."

Guests bring their own plates to the meal. When they arrive, the farmer shows them around.

"These are free-range chickens. We want them to eat as much pasture¹¹ as possible because that's the magic."

Matt Szechenyi and his family operate Briars Farmstead.

"This type of event connects us with a lot of enthusiastic people, people that will -- we can form relationships with in the future. And this type of small farm business thrives¹² on relationships."

The tour of the farm ends at the dinner table. The meats in this five-course meal come from Matt Szechenyi's farm. The vegetables and other ingredients¹³ come from nearby farms. Guests and local farmers sit together.

Annoica Ingram came with a friend.

"The food has been absolutely wonderful. I totally appreciate hard work, because now that you see everything they have to do to take care of the animals and make sure they're well cared for."

Alex Bogel came with his family.

"It is also especially wonderful to sit at a table this big with all these people. The sense of community is wonderful."

Jim Denevan and his team have served almost thirteen thousand people. He plans to expand the operation.

"Next year, we're planning to go to Asia, to Africa and New Zealand and Australia and back to South America."

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Contributing: June Soh

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 mission   

n.使命，任务，天职；代表团，使团

参考例句：

• He was charged with an important mission.他受委托承担一项重要使命。
• I'll leave you to undertake an important mission.我要让你承担一项重要使命。

3 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

4 crew   

n.全体船员，全体乘务员；vi.一起工作

参考例句：

• A captain controls his ship and its crew.船长管理他的船和船上的船员。
• The captain kept his crew at a distance.船长与他的船员总保持一段距离。

5 chef   

n.炊事员，厨师

参考例句：

• He started work as a trainee chef.他开始了见习厨师的工作。
• No one can become a chef without practical experience.没有实际工作经验，谁也当不了厨师长。

6 chefs   

n.厨师长( chef的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• one of the country's premier chefs 国家名厨之一
• He is one of the top chefs in Britain. 他是英国最好的厨师之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 directly   

adv.直接地，径直地；马上，立即

参考例句：

• I will telephone you directly I hear the news.我一听到消息，马上打电话给你。
• She answered me very directly and openly.她非常坦率地、开门见山地答复了我。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

10 ranches   

大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They hauled feedlot manure from the ranches to fertilize their fields. 他们从牧场的饲养场拖走肥料去肥田。
• Many abandoned ranches are purchased or leased by other poultrymen. 许多被放弃的牧场会由其他家禽监主收买或租用。

11 pasture   

n.牧场，牲畜饲养

参考例句：

• This is the place where they used to pasture.这就是他们过去经常放牧的地方。
• The boy got up very early every morning to pasture cattle.这男孩每天起得很早去放牛。

12 thrives   

v.兴盛，兴隆( thrive的第三人称单数 )；长得健壮

参考例句：

• He's the sort of person who thrives on hard work. 他是那种以刻苦工作为乐的人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry thrives in the south. 南方工业发达。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 ingredients   

n.（混合物的）组成部分( ingredient的名词复数 )；（烹调的）原料；（构成）要素；因素

参考例句：

• All ingredients are readily available from your local store. 所有的原料都可以方便地从你当地的商店买到。
• We never use second quality ingredients to build building. 我们决不使用次等材料用于建筑。 来自《简明英汉词典》