2006年VOA标准英语-US Beef Making Tentative Return to North Asian

By Steve Herman
Tokyo
24 September 2006

American beef is back in the Japanese market and slated¹ to return to South Korea soon. But for America's beef exporters, who lost two of their three largest markets in 2003 after a few cases of mad cow disease were discovered in the United States, it is going to be an uphill struggle to rebuild their north Asian business. 

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American beef once again being served in Japan   
  
Despite consumer fears in north Asia about possible bovine² spongiform encephalopathy, more commonly known as mad cow disease, American beef is returning to shops and restaurants in this region with ceremonial flourish.

Staff at Tokyo's popular Yoshinoya restaurant chain welcome patrons back to sample dishes made with American beef. Some diners waited as long as 12 hours to make sure they would get a taste - as supplies are limited for now.

Ambassador Thomas Schieffer has been heavily promoting U.S. beef to help American exporters rebuild their nearly $1.5-billion annual business in Japan. 

 
Amb. Thomas Schieffer being served American roast beef
  
The ambassador, leaving another beef promotional lunch in downtown Tokyo, joked that his cholesterol³ count must have soared in recent days after eating American beef for nearly every meal. But he says what is important is Japan's appetite for U.S. meat.

"The real issue here is whether the Japanese consumer will come back to American beef and I think you have seen that they are going to do that," he said.

Amb. Schieffer posing for photographers with U.S. beef on his fork  
  
After intense negotiations⁴, Japan agreed this month to accept meat from specially⁵ certified⁶ exporters processing U.S. cattle younger than 21 months.

The international standard age for cattle is 30 months to ensure protection against tainted⁷ beef from animals with mad cow disease. 

Meanwhile in South Korea, U.S. boneless beef imports are due to resume within weeks, pending⁸ resolution of some minor⁹ disagreements.

Mad cow disease is a degenerative nerve disorder¹⁰ found in cattle that was first reported in herds¹¹ in Britain 20 years ago. In 1996, there was global concern when scientists found that eating beef products from infected cows may cause a similar fatal brain disease in humans - a variant¹² of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says in the past 10 years there have been a total of 196 cases of the human illness in 11 countries. The majority of the patients have been in Britain. One person has been reported sick in Japan.

1 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

2 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。

3 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

6 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

7 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

9 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

10 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

11 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

12 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。