VOA常速英语2014--California Drought Will Lead to Higher Food Prices 加州干旱将导致粮食价格上涨

 

California Drought Will Lead to Higher Food Prices 加州干旱将导致粮食价格上涨

FRESNO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA — California is a major farming state, and a serious drought is hurting its farmers and raising the likelihood of higher food prices throughout the United States. In the state's Central Valley water-starved farms are cutting production.

弗雷斯诺县，加利福尼亚。农业最为发达的加州正遭遇严重旱灾，旱灾损害了农民的利益，更有可能提高全美的粮食价格。.在加州的中央谷,缺水的农场正在消减产量。

Last year was the driest on record in California, and this year may be just as dry.  

去年为加州有史以来最严重的一次旱灾，而今年灾情将持续。

Some reservoirs are empty and the Sierra mountain snow pack, which melts and fills rivers in the springtime, is at dangerously low levels -- just one quarter of normal.  

一些水库已经干涸，本来塞拉山脉的积雪是一种水源储备，在春天积雪融化流入河中（注入下游的水库），而今处于危险的低水平，只为正常水平的四分之一。

Farmers warn of another "Dust Bowl" -- referring to the drought and dust storms that ravaged¹ American farmlands in the 1930s.  

农场主们警告说：另一场“黑色沙尘暴”即将来临！20世纪30年代美国南部大平原曾发生过灾难性的特强沙尘暴。

California produces nearly half of the United States' fruits and vegetables, and much of it comes from the state's sprawling² Central Valley.  

全美近乎一半的水果和蔬菜产自加州，其中的大多数来自该州绵延广袤的中央谷。

Dan Errotabere is a third generation farmer who grows tomatoes, walnuts³, garlic and other crops in Fresno County. The federal agency that controls the water released from dams and the river system has cut his water supplies to zero.

Dan Errotabere 是弗雷斯诺县种植西红柿、胡桃、大蒜及其他农作物的第三代农民。控制水坝和河流系统供水的联邦政府机关把他的水供应削减为零。

“The last couple of years, dry years, coupled with severe environmental restrictions⁴, has now presented us with a zero allocation year," said Errotabere.

Errotabere谈到：“过去的几年，干旱的气候，再加上严格的环保规定让我们现在面临水源“零供应”的一年。”

More than 200,000 hectares of prime farmland may go unplanted in the Central Valley. Errotabere will let more than 20 percent of his farm lie fallow and lay off 10 of 25 workers.

中央谷地区超过20万公顷的农田将无人耕种。Errotabere表示他将让其超过20%农田撂荒，并从其25名工人中辞退10人。

“Right now, we're completely depending on wells to finish these crops off, but I'm going to be fallowing [not planting on] 1,200 acres [485 hectares] of our operation. There won't be anything growing on there,” he said.

“如今，我们已经完全依赖井水来种植剩下的农作物了，但是我将要将我们经营的1200英亩（即485公顷）土地撂荒（土地不继续耕种，任其荒芜），那里不会再种植任何农作物了。

Even years with good rainfall have seen reduced water allocations, as federal and state officials supply water to the Sacramento River Delta⁵, home of delta smelt⁶ and other endangered species.  

甚至具有良好的降雨的几年也出现降低供水量的情况，因为联邦政府和州政府官员把水资源供给了萨克拉门托河三角洲，那里是三角洲胡瓜鱼，及其他濒危物种的栖息地。

Errotabere -- and other farmers -- say the water system is mismanaged and that his high-efficiency drip irrigation system offers little help without supplies of water.

Errotabere 和其他农民说，供水系统的管理欠妥，因为没有供水，他的高效的灌溉系统也发挥不了大作用了。

Ryan Jacobsen of the Fresno County Farm Bureau said the shortage is forcing hard decisions. “The severity of this drought will be seen for possibly a decade to come because of the effects it's going to have on permanent crops and the likelihood that many of these permanent crops may have to come out of the ground.”

弗雷斯诺县的农业局Ryan Jacobsen 表示供水短缺迫使人们做出艰难的决定。“这次旱灾导致的严重后果可能要在十年后才能明了，因为它对长期作物将产生影响，很多长期作物也许会因此在地上消失。”

Those permanent crops include citrus, walnuts and grapes.

这些长期作物包括例如柠檬、柑橘、核桃和葡萄等作物。

The effects have not hit the nation's consumers yet, but inevitably⁷ they will, as shortages lead to higher prices.  

这次旱灾尚未殃及全国的消费者，但因为粮食短缺而引起的价格上涨，在未来，已经是不可避免的了。

Jon Murga of Fresco⁸ Community Markets in Los Angeles said politicians need to come up with an answer to the water crisis.

在洛杉矶弗雷斯诺的市场，商贩Jon Murga 提出，政客们务必要为水源危机提出一个解决方案。

“Because that, at this moment, seems to me to be the most important thing that we need to be addressing. Long term, short term, intermediate term, however you choose to look at it,” said Murga.

“因为这，在我看来，是当下最重要的事情。无论你怎么选择，长期、短期或是中期方案都好。”Jon Murga 说。

Murga said rising food costs in California will affect the entire country. And since California is a major exporter of food, it also will affect markets overseas.  

Murga表示，加州的粮食价格上升将影响全美国，而且由于加州是主要的出口大户，势必也将影响到海外市场。

 

Long-term solutions include conservation and recycling waste water, building desalination⁹ plants and -- farmers say -- better management of the state's water system.

长期的解决方案有例如节约用水和废水回收，建设海水淡化装置等，还有农户们提出的：改善该州的水资源系统管理。

1 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

2 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

3 walnuts   

胡桃（树）( walnut的名词复数 )； 胡桃木

参考例句：

• Are there walnuts in this sauce? 这沙司里面有核桃吗？
• We ate eggs and bacon, pickled walnuts and cheese. 我们吃鸡蛋，火腿，腌胡桃仁和干酪。

4 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

5 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

6 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

7 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

8 fresco   

n.壁画；vt.作壁画于

参考例句：

• This huge fresco is extremely clear and just like nature itself.It is very harmonious.这一巨幅壁画，清晰有致且又浑然天成，十分和谐。
• So it is quite necessary to study the influence of visual thinking over fresco.因此，研究视觉思维对壁画的影响和作用是十分必要的。

9 desalination   

n.脱盐(作用)

参考例句：

• Crops can be grown on this land after desalination. 这片土地经过脱盐就可以种植庄稼了。
• One source is by desalination-taking the salt out of salt water to make it drinkable. 淡水的来源之一是使水淡化--把含盐的水中的盐份去掉，使之能够饮用。