AGRICULTURE REPORT - Thai Agriculture Minister Dismissed Ove

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Thai Agriculture Minister Dismissed² Over Bird Flu
By

Broadcast: Tuesday, October 12, 2004

This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

 
Thaksin Shinawatra 
Thailand and its chicken industry continue to deal with the effects from the spread of bird influenza³. Last week, Prime⁴ Minister Thaksin Shinawatra replaced his agriculture minister.

The dismissal⁵ followed an emergency meeting called by the prime minister at the end of September. Mister⁶ Thaksin threatened to dismiss¹ several ministers if the avian influenza problem is not controlled by the end of October.

The World Health Organization, however, noted⁷ that an outbreak in Mexico in nineteen ninety-two took three years to control completely. Thai officials admitted early this year that they had not done enough to control the outbreak in their country.

Cases of bird flu have been reported in almost half the provinces in Thailand. The most recent report to the World Organization for Animal Health said forty-six more farms reported cases in the last week of September. At least twenty-five thousand birds were destroyed. Not only chickens have been affected⁸, but also ducks and other birds.

The World Health Organization said a nine-year-old girl died of avian influenza on October third. Her death was the eleventh this year caused by the form of virus called h-five-n-one. Thai officials recently announced a case in which they said one person had probably infected another with avian flu. However, that possibility was not immediately confirmed.

Avian influenza has meant heavy economic losses for Thai agriculture. Last year, Thailand was the biggest exporter of chicken products in Asia. It was the fourth largest exporter in the world. But the United States Agriculture Department says it expects Thai chicken exports to fall by sixty percent this year. The department estimates⁹ Thailand will export about two hundred thousand metric¹⁰ tons.

On September fifteenth, the European Union extended¹¹ a ban on chicken, eggs and live birds from Thailand and nine other Asian countries. The ban will stay in effect at least until the end of March.

The Thai government is trying to get farmers to raise chickens in buildings, not in open areas where wild birds could infect them. Officials are also urging people to report any suspected cases of bird flu, and to wear protection if they ever touch dead birds. People are being told to put dead birds in plastic bags and give them to health or agricultural officials.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Gwen Outen.

1 dismiss   

v.解雇，开除；把（某人）打发走；解散

参考例句：

• The committee has decided to dismiss him.委员会已决定辞退他。
• Please dismiss all doubts about it. 请打消对此事的一切顾虑。

2 dismissed   

v.解雇( dismiss的过去式和过去分词 )；（使击球员或球队）退场；使退去；驳回

参考例句：

• Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. 素食者不再被视为有怪癖的人。
• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。

3 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

4 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

5 dismissal   

n.解雇，免职；撤退；解雇通知；[法]驳回，拒绝受理

参考例句：

• He still hopes to win his claim against unfair dismissal . 他声称遭无理解雇，仍然希望赢得申诉。
• She decided to sue her employer for wrongful dismissal. 她决定起诉雇主非法解雇她。

6 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 metric   

adj.公制的，米制的，十进制的；n.度量标准，公制，米制，十进制

参考例句：

• In the metric system,measurements are made in metres and liters.在公制中，用米和升作计量单位。
• The metric system is fit to all of the world. 公制适用于全世界。

11 extended   

adj.延伸的；伸展的；延长的；扩大的v.延伸(extend的过去式和过去分词)；伸展；延长

参考例句：

• an extended lunch hour 延长了的午餐时间
• France has greatly extended its influence in world affairs. 在世界事务中，法国的影响已大大地扩大了。 来自《简明英汉词典》