VOA慢速英语2015--美国、埃塞俄比亚联合培训妇女农民

 

AS IT IS 2014-12-28 US, Ethiopia Join to Train Women Farmers 美国、埃塞俄比亚联合培训妇女农民

The U.S. is awarding $15,000 each to five pairs of U.S. and Ethiopian universities for research and development projects.

One partnership¹ is between the University of Maryland and Debre Birhan University, in Ethiopia. The partners will use the money to train Ethiopian women to grow crops throughout the year. They will teach students in both classrooms and on farms. Their goal is to help Ethiopia fight food insecurity.

Becky Ramsing is an advisor² at the University of Maryland. She says she hopes the program will help women in Ethiopia who might not have any other way to get training.

“If you give the woman the resources those resources will directly go to the family. And when women are given added income or are able to raise more food, that directly relates to the children and the education and nutrition of the child.”

Ms. Ramsing says the program will first train teachers and officials at Debre Birhan University. Then, those teachers and officials will teach women useful farming skills, such as how to grow food in small places.

“Some of these women don’t have access to land. How can we do container gardening and vertical³ gardening, livestocks like small poultry⁴?”

Tsigemariam Bashe is an official of Debre Birhan university. Ms. Bashe says the program aims to do more than teach farming. The larger purpose, she says, is to help women care for themselves and their families.  

“Empowering women is empowering the whole population or empowering the society.”

Hailu Terefe also works⁵ at Debre Birham. He says in some parts of the country only men are taught how to farm.

“There is cultural differences in Ethiopia. All of the regions⁷ do not have the same culture. There are regions that women are not allowed to go for agricultural practices.”

Tsigemariam Bashe hopes the women who are trained will then train other women.

“I hope, I hope in the near future womens in the project becomes the community educator.”

Four other American universities received awards for research and development partnerships⁸. They are Brown, Bowling⁹ Green State, Ball State and the University of North Texas Libraries. The U.S. State Department and Department of Education gave the awards, in part, to strengthen the abilities of teachers and school officials in both the U.S. and Ethiopia. 

Words in This Story

designed – v. to plan or make (something) for a specific use or purpose

food insecurity – n. to be not certain that one will continue to have food

nutrition – n. the process of eating the right kind of food so you can grow properly and be healthy

container – n. a large box that goods are placed in so that they can be moved from one place to another on a ship, airplane, train or truck

vertical – adj. positioned up and down rather than from side to side; going straight up

poultry – n. birds (such as chickens and ducks) that are raised on farms for their eggs or meat

population – n. a group of people of a particular kind that live in a place

cultural – adj. of or relating to a particular group of people and their habits, beliefs or traditions

region⁶ – n. a part of a country or the world that is different or separate from other parts in some way

practices – n. customs and teachings of a religion or group 

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

4 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

5 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。

6 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

7 regions   

n.地区( region的名词复数 )；[数学]区域；（艺术、科学等的）领域；行政区

参考例句：

• A flying doctor service operates in remote regions. 在偏远地区有飞行医生服务。
• More powers are gradually being devolved to the regions. 正逐步向地方下放更多的权力。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

9 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？