VOA慢速英语2015 缅甸农户种植咖啡代替罂粟

AS IT IS 2015-07-30 In Myanmar, Replacing Poppy Plants with Coffee 缅甸农户种植咖啡代替罂粟

Large numbers of opium¹ poppy plants grow in the mountains of Myanmar’s Shan State. In fact, Shan State is the second-largest opium-producing area in the world.

After a drop in production during the 2000s, the number of poppies has risen in the past eight years. Some experts have linked the increased production to a growing demand for the drug heroin² in China. But Myanmar’s poppy farmers are now earning less on their crops.

Now, the United Nations is hoping many will decide to grow coffee instead.

For years, thousands of Shan State farmers have earned more profit from sales of opium poppy than from other crops. But poppy prices fluctuate³; they may rise one month, but fall the next.

Fifty-four-year-old Long San is a poppy farmer. He was one of 400 growers who last year joined a U.N.-supported crop replacement⁴ program. Long San is now growing coffee.

So far, Myanmar’s efforts to cut down on poppy growing have done little to stop the farmers. A U.N. study found that more than 57-thousand hectares of poppy were grown in Shan State last year. That is almost three times the area farmed in 2006.

That has made Myanmar second only to Afghanistan in production.

But drug traffickers can be bad business partners. The U.N.’s Jochen Wiese says farmers have a better choice.

“You have to find something, which is economically is competitive⁵, and also sustainable, and we having here the altitudes – between 1,000 and 1,700 meters -- where the main poppy production takes place, and this is just the precise area where you can grow high-quality coffee.”

It will still be a few years before the coffee plants are ready to harvest. But until then, growers continue to receive seeds, tools and training.

There are currently⁶ 200 hectares of coffee being grown. U.N. officials hope the area could expand to 600 hectares by the end of the year.

A major concern, however, is the struggle for territory between ethnic⁷ armed groups and the government.

For now, the young coffee plants occupy just a small part of Shan State’s poppy fields. But they represent hope that this area will one day be known for its coffee, not its opium.

Words in This Story

fluctuate – v. to rise and fall in uneven⁸ levels or amounts

eradication⁹ – n. the complete destruction of something

sustainable – adj. able to be depended or continued at set rates

altitudes – n. heights

1 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

2 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

3 fluctuate   

vi.波动，起伏，动摇；vt.使波动，使起伏

参考例句：

• Prices fluctuate from year to year.物价年年波动。
• Body temperature can fluctuate if you are ill.人患病后体温可能会上下波动。

4 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

5 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

6 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

9 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。