AGRICULTURE REPORT - Mike Johanns, Nominee for U.S. Agricult

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Mike Johanns, Nominee¹ for U.S. Agriculture Secretary
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Tuesday, December 14, 2004

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

 
AP Photo
Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns grew up on a farm. As he likes to say, everything in life has seemed easy since then. Now Mister Johanns is President Bush's choice for the next agriculture secretary.

The president says Mister Johanns knows the needs of farmers. He says his nominee is a strong supporter of fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel that are made from farm products. And Mister Johanns has led farm delegations² to a number of countries.

Mike Johanns was born in Iowa. He is fifty-four years old. He was elected governor of Nebraska in nineteen ninety-eight. Voters in the Midwestern state re-elected him in two thousand two. As governor, he has sought to cut property taxes and to expand agricultural trade for his state.

Mister Johanns must be confirmed by the Senate to replace Ann Veneman, who is resigning.

Mizz Veneman has not had an easy time as agriculture secretary. Last December the first, and so far only, confirmed case of mad cow disease was found in the United States. The discovery in Washington state led more than thirty nations to ban imports of American beef.

Also, bird flu spread among some chicken farms in parts of the United States. This was not the severe form of virus that has killed people in Southeast Asia. Still, the outbreak led several nations to ban imports of American chickens.

In recent years, American farmers have also faced greater foreign competition. In fact, next year, the Agriculture Department expects imports of farm products into the United States to equal exports. This has not happened in almost fifty years.

And the next agriculture secretary will have to deal with another threat: the risk of a terrorist³ attack on the nation's food supply.

The Agriculture Department is responsible for areas of food safety and for agricultural research. It is also responsible for programs including farm loans and development. In addition, the department works to expand markets for American agricultural products. And it supervises⁴ national forests and other natural resources.

Congress established the Department of Agriculture in eighteen sixty-two. The department is one of the largest in the government. It has over one hundred thousand employees. Its two thousand five budget is more than eighty thousand million dollars.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. I'm Gwen Outen.

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

3 terrorist   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子

参考例句：

• Without the gun,I'm a sitting duck for any terrorist.没有这支枪，我就成了恐怖分子下手的目标了。
• The district was put on red alert during a terrorist's bomb scare.这个地区在得到恐怖分子炸弹恐吓后作了应急准备。

4 supervises   

v.监督，管理( supervise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The group leader supervises a dozen workers. 组长管十二个工人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He makes the wines and supervises the vineyards. 他酿酒并管理葡萄园。 来自辞典例句