AGRICULTURE REPORT - Second Mad-Cow Case Found in U.S.

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Second Mad-Cow Case Found in U.S.
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Tuesday, July 12, 2005

I'm Faith Lapidus with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

The United States has its second confirmed case of mad cow disease.

The first case was found in December of two thousand three in Washington state. But it involved an animal imported from Canada. This time, officials say it was a twelve-year-old cow born and raised in Texas.

It was born before nineteen ninety-seven, when the government banned feeding the remains¹ of cattle to other cattle. The disease can spread that way. But Agriculture Department officials now say genetic² tests on cows from the same group as the infected one have found no other cases.

Officials noted³ that the cow in Texas did not enter the food supply. It was brought dead last November to a pet food company. Employees took brain tissue and sent it to a state laboratory.

The test results proved nothing. So tests took place at the Agriculture Department laboratory in Ames, Iowa. These showed that the cow was not infected.

Then, in the middle of June, the inspector⁴ general of the department ordered a third test. The results led officials to send the tissue for more study at a top laboratory in Weybridge, England. On June twenty-fourth Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced the finding of mad cow disease.

His department has tested four hundred thousand cattle since June of last year. He says one case out of that many shows an "extremely, extremely low" presence of the disease in the United States.

Still, Mister Johanns ordered officials to develop new rules for the testing process. Critics point to mistakes which delayed confirmation⁵ of the disease.

After the first case in two thousand three, major importers placed restrictions⁶ on American beef. As of the end of June, sixty-four countries had complete or partial bans.

Top importer Japan as well as South Korea, China and Taiwan continue to ban all American beef. Canada and Mexico have partial bans. The United States Meat Export Federation⁷, a trade group, says exports fell eighty-six percent last year.

The scientific name for mad cow disease is bovine⁸ spongiform encephalopathy, or B.S.E. A form of this brain-wasting disease can infect people. Most of the cases have been reported in Britain. Scientists there blame the disease for at least one hundred fifty deaths in the last ten years.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. Our reports are online at www.unsv.com. I'm Faith Lapidus.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

3 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。

4 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

5 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

8 bovine   

adj.牛的；n.牛

参考例句：

• He threw off his pack and went into the rush-grass andand munching,like some bovine creature.他丢开包袱，爬到灯心草丛里，像牛似的大咬大嚼起来。
• He was a gentle,rather bovine man.他是一位文雅而反应迟钝的人。