VOA标准英语2012--Mystery Maize Disease Strikes Kenya Farms 玉米疾病威胁肯尼亚粮食安全

 

Mystery Maize¹ Disease Strikes Kenya Farms 

玉米疾病威胁肯尼亚粮食安全

A maize disease is sweeping² through Kenya’s small farming communities and, in the South Rift³ Valley, there are few who haven’t been affected⁴.

Holding up evidence of his dying maize crop, a farmer in the Kenyan community of Bomet is the latest to become entangled⁵ in the maize mystery.

紧握着他的即将死亡的玉米作物证据,一位肯尼亚柏梅特社区的农夫成了最近卷入玉米之谜当中的又一名受害者。

“Everything is affected, The five acres [2 hectares], all the way," he says pointing toward his fields, "is all affected.”

“一切都受到了影响,五英亩（2公顷),所有的作物,”他说着，指着他的田地,“所有都受到影响。”

The problem has prompted the local farming leader, assistant police chief and the CEO of a cereal growers association in Nairobi to visit the small farm.

这个问题使当地农业领导人，助理警察局长及内罗毕谷物种植者协会的CEO走访这个小农场。

“They gave us information, after the first rain in January, that it must be something with the rain," says Sigei Aron, the farming leader.

“他们给我们信息,是在一月份第一次雨后,一定是和下雨有关。”农业领导人塞格?阿伦说道。

Assistant police chief Samsung Ngetich suspects the problem lies elsewhere. “I think there was a supply of the wrong seed,”

助理警察局长桑格?内克质疑问题出在其他地方。“我想是错误的种子被供应。”

“How would all those companies give the wrong seed, at the same time, in the same area?” asks David Nyameino, who heads the cereal grower's association.

“所有这些公司如何在同一时间，同一地区提供错误的种子?”大卫?内米诺问道,他领导谷物种植者协会。

Nyameino, who considers himself a maize expert, examines the farmer's dry, yellowish crop.

内米诺自认自己是玉米专家,并考察了农民的干黄作物。

“At this stage, this should be green maize," he says. "But there's no maize...this is what should have been maize, but it’s already dead.”

“在这个阶段,这应该是绿色的玉米,”他说道。“但是没有玉米……这应该是玉米的,但是它已经死了。”

The Kenyan government estimates 40 percent or more of the South Rift Valley's maize crop has been affected.

肯尼亚政府估计南部裂谷40%或更多的玉米作物受到了影响。

Stopping the mysteriously spreading disease is Nyameino's number one priority.

阻止神秘疾病传播是内米诺当前的首要任务。

“The area that gives Kenya real maize is in the North Rift," Nyameino says. "If this disease appears in the north rift, Kenya will become hopeless in terms of food...Kenyans believe maize is the food security for the country."

“供给肯尼亚玉米真正的地区是在北部裂谷,” 内米诺说道。“如果这种疾病出现在北部裂谷,肯尼亚的食品将变得绝望…肯尼亚人相信玉米对于国家而言就是粮食安全。”

It’s unclear what makes the disease spread. Some believe it's the wind or insects, or both. Limited information is also a problem.

目前还不清楚是什么使疾病传播。有些人认为是风或昆虫,或两者都是。有限的信息也是一个问题。

“What is lacking here is awareness⁶ of what should be done," Nyameino says, adding that the farmers are receiving contradictory⁷ information. "They are saying that they have been advised the stocks should not be fed to the animals, but the current information we have from the government is there is no problem to feed the animals with the stock.”

“现在缺乏的是意识到应该做些什么,”内米诺补充道农民正在接受矛盾的信息。“他们说他们已经被建议储藏物不能用来喂动物,但当前我们已经从政府得到的信息是用储藏物给动物喂食没有问题。”

Aron, the local farming leader, planted a test field in search of answers. He successfully grew sweet potatoes here, and in the same field as the disease-infected maize, he grew millet⁸, another staple⁹ food for Kenya.

当地农业领导人艾荣计划在一个地区进行测试来寻找答案。他成功地在这里培育出甜土豆，而他又在玉米受到疾病感染的同一地区培育出小米,这是肯尼亚的另一种主食。

Although that's a positive sign, assistant police chief Ngetich predicts the worst.

虽然这是一种积极的信号,但助理警察局长内克则预计最糟糕的情况。

“We are fearing the children might not go to school next time, and also there will be no food for the community," he says. "So we need help, if there can be somewhere, so we can assist these people, to cut down this and maybe to plant short season crops to save their lives."

“我们担心孩子们下一次可能不去上学，也不会给社区食物,”他说道。“所以我们需要帮助,如果在某处可以有的话,我们可以帮助这些人，也许种植短季节作物缩减来挽救他们的生命。

Meanwhile, the group continues to investigate, looking for a cause and trying to solve the mystery, in hopes of saving lives.

与此同时,这一小组仍在继续调查,寻找原因,并试图解开这个谜团,希望能够拯救生命。

1 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。

2 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

3 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

4 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。

5 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

7 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

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 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。