VOA标准英语2010年-Climate Change: New Report Outlines Ho

A new study warns of the potential problems Africa faces from rising temperatures. The Nairobi-based International Livestock¹ Research Institute (ILRI) says the continent must learn to adapt to shorter growing seasons. The report was released as the U.N. Climate Change Conference is held in Cancun, Mexico.
Most warnings about climate change are based on a possible rise in global temperatures by two degrees Celsius². But this report considers what might happen if temperatures increased by four degrees.
Institute Director-General Carlos Sere⁴ says, "We already know that two degrees Celsius increases are highly probable, even if we get into action. So this study was showing what would happen with scenarios⁵ with about four degrees, which are not completely out of the realm of the possible. A number of modeling exercises show that this could happen."Sere says computer models indicate such an increase is possible by the year 2090.
The fate of Africans"The main concern is really the fate of Africans. Africans are, as you know, largely working in rural areas. We estimate at least 60 percent of the total employment is in the rural areas and it's largely in mixed systems – crop/livestock systems where people have small acreages, grow some cereals, some roots and tubers and keep some animals," he says.
A U.N. report predicts a tripling of the population of African cities over the next 40 years. Sere says the population in rural areas will increase as well.
"All our models indicate that the absolute number of people in rural areas is still going to grow. So, farms are going to get smaller. There's going to be less resources. And we'll have to be much smarter in terms of improving the productivity to feed not only people in the rural areas, but those rapidly growing cities," says Sere.
AdaptationScientists at the International Livestock Research Institute say with a four degree Celsius rise in temperature, the growing season in many African countries could dramatically shorten.
"So that would really put large numbers of poor people into a very difficult situation in terms of coping with this change," he says.
Adapting to climate change could mean having diversity in crops and livestock.
Sere says, "Clearly, farmers would have to change some of their crops. So, for example, areas which are getting a reasonable maize⁶ harvest, a corn harvest, nowadays, might have to move into more drought tolerant grains like sorghum⁷ or millet⁸. Similarly, on the livestock side there would have to probably be quite a shift to more hardy⁹ local breeds instead of high yielding imported breeds, which are much less able to cope with higher temperatures and more variability."The genetic¹⁰ resources of hardy local crops and livestock could be used to help develop new varieties and breeds better able to deal with climate change.
Sere says the report calls for "sustainable intensification¹¹.""Finding sustainable ways of better using the resources that we have on the farms. Making sure that, for example, besides using fertilizers, manure¹² is used efficiently¹³ to bring those nutrients¹⁵ back into the soil. That crop residues¹⁶ are used smartly to feed animals. We will have to get all these nutrient¹⁴ loops much more efficient than they are today," he says.
He says there would also be "significant changes in disease patterns.""Because," he says, "disease vectors like mosquitoes, like tsetse flies, etc. – the pattern of distribution would change quite dramatically."The Institute says, "While many options are already available that could help farmers adapt.... It is quite possible that the adaptive capacity and resilience of hundreds of millions of people in Africa could simply be overwhelmed by events."The new study appears in the British journal Philosophical¹⁷ Transactions of the Royal Series A.
A minority of scientists dispute the dire³ predictions about climate change, saying the evidence does not exist and that their computer models show much less dramatic results.

1 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

2 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

3 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

4 sere   

adj.干枯的；n.演替系列

参考例句：

• The desert was edged with sere vegetation.沙漠周围零星地长着一些干枯的植被。
• A sere on uncovered rock is a lithosere.在光秃岩石上的演替系列是岩生演替系列。

5 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

7 sorghum   

n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西

参考例句：

• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。
• They made sorghum into pig feed.他们把高粱做成了猪饲料。

8 millet   

n.小米，谷子

参考例句：

• Millet is cultivated in the middle or lower reaches of the Yellow River.在黄河中下游地区，人们种植谷子。
• The high quality millet flour was obtained through wet milling.采用湿磨法获得了高品质的小米粉。

9 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

10 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。

11 intensification   

n.激烈化，增强明暗度；加厚

参考例句：

• The intensification of the immunological response represents the body's natural defense. 增强免疫反应代表身体的自然保卫。 来自辞典例句
• Agriculture in the developing nations is not irreversibly committed, to a particular pattern of intensification. 发展中国家的农业并没有完全为某种集约化形式所束缚。 来自辞典例句

12 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

13 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

14 nutrient   

adj.营养的，滋养的；n.营养物，营养品

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。

15 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 residues   

n.剩余，余渣( residue的名词复数 )；剩余财产；剩数

参考例句：

• pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables 残留在水果和蔬菜中的杀虫剂
• All organic and metallic residues on the wafers must be removed. 片子上所有的有机和金属残留物均必须清除。 来自辞典例句

17 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。