VOA慢速英语2012 Agriculture Report - New Findings About Loss of Bees

Agriculture Report - New Findings About Loss of Bees

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Bees add an estimated eighteen billion dollars a year to the value of American crops. They pollinate flowers that become fruits, nuts and vegetables. But, in recent years, honeybee colonies in the United States and Europe have been shrinking. Scientists have proposed different theories to explain what is known as colony collapse¹ disorder².

New research suggests that a commonly used group of insecticides could cause bees to have a hard time finding their way back to their hive.

The new research looks at the use of pesticides⁴ called neonicotinoids. They were first used in the nineteen nineties. They are now put on the seeds of many major crops around the world. The seedlings⁵ absorb the chemical as they grow.

That means farmers do not need to spray a whole field. Instead there is a little bit of insecticide inside each plant -- including the pollen⁶ and nectar that the bees want.

There is not enough pesticide³ to kill them. But the new research in the journal Science says it may harm them anyway.

Researchers stuck microchips to the backs of the bees. These chips recorded the bees' movements as they came and went from their hive. The scientists fed some bees sugar water with a low dose of a neonicotinoid. The study found that these bees were about twice as likely not to return as other bees.

Mickael Henry from INRA, the French national agriculture research institute, says the bees basically get drunk.

MICKAEL HENRY: "Intoxicated⁷ honeybees with those small doses may just get lost and are not able to find their way back home."

For some crops around the world, wild pollinators like bumblebees are more important than honeybees. Dave Goulson at the University of Sterling⁸ in Britain worked on another study published in Science. He says the pesticides could help explain why bumblebee populations are also decreasing.

DAVE GOULSON: "There were eighty-five percent fewer queens produced when they’d been exposed to realistic field levels."

Bayer CropScience makes neonicotinoid pesticides. Company spokesman Jack⁹ Boyne disputed the findings.

JACK BOYNE: "Instead of dosing the animals at field-relevant concentrations as the authors intended, they instead dosed them at levels far greater than what would commonly be experienced in the field."

He also notes that researchers are studying other factors that could affect bee populations. These include parasites¹⁰, diseases and stress caused by transporting beehives to farms.

Some European countries have banned the pesticides. And there are growing calls to ban them in the United States as well.

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. I’m Jim Tedder¹¹.

1 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。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

4 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 seedlings   

n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ninety-five per cent of the new seedlings have survived. 新栽的树苗95%都已成活。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In such wet weather we must prevent the seedlings from rotting. 这样的阴雨天要防止烂秧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

7 intoxicated   

喝醉的，极其兴奋的

参考例句：

• She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
• They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉，东南西北全然不辨。

8 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

9 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

10 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

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