VOA常速英语2015--肯尼亚茶农应对气候变化

Kenya’s Tea Farmers Brace¹ for Climate Change 肯尼亚茶农应对气候变化

NAIROBI—

The effects of climate change fall especially hard on farmers around the world.  In Kenya, rising temperatures, extreme weather and shifting rain patterns are complicating² life for some 600,000 small-scale tea farmers. The men and women who grow the world’s second-most-popular beverage³ are being told not to rely on tea alone for their livelihoods⁴.

Alice Kariuki grows tea in Kenya’s highlands, a couple of hours north of Nairobi. She says these days, the seasons are harder to predict than they used to be.

在肯尼亚内罗毕的北部，艾丽丝·卡里在这片高原上种植茶叶。她称最近一些日子的季节变化比以前更加难以预测。

“When we are wanting time for rain, it changes and becomes time for sun," said Kariuki.

如果我们希望它下雨，老天就会出太阳。

Kenya is the world’s third-largest tea producer, exporting $1.3 billion worth in 2013.

肯尼亚是全球第三大茶叶生产国，在2013年，肯尼亚茶叶的出口额达到了13亿美金。

Hundreds of thousands of small-scale farmers work in the tea industry in Kenya. It’s the country’s largest export industry. But they’re already starting to see effects from climate change.

在肯尼亚，有数十万小型农民从事茶叶生产。茶叶是肯尼亚最大的出口产业。然而，茶叶生产已经受到了气候变化的影响。

Rising temperatures are damaging tea plants, says agronomist⁵ Steven Mwaniki.

农学家史蒂文·万妮科称，气温的不断增高破坏了茶叶种植。

“Sun scorching⁶. See? The sun is so hot, leading to scorching," said Mwaniki.

太阳暴晒，看见了吗？气温太高了。

And it’s not just heat extremes. Dead, brown fields bitten by frost are more common, too. And damage from insects and diseases is also rising.

不仅仅是高温天气。许多农田遭到霜冻的破坏变黑，或者是死亡，这些都非常常见。害虫和疾病的破坏也在不断上升。

“That increase in the number of pests is coming as a result of climate change," said Mwaniki.

由于气候变化，害虫的数量也在不断上升。

It adds up to a major threat to Kenya’s tea industry. ETP -- the London-based Ethical⁷ Tea Partnership⁸ - and others published research showing the areas in red will be much less suitable for the crop in 2050 compared to today.

这也已经成为了威胁肯尼亚茶业的最大威胁。ETP（伦敦茶业非营利组织）以及其他组织公布了这项研究，研究报道称到2050年，这片红色区域将不再适合种植作物。

For the average small-scale farmer who plants most of his or her land with tea, deepening poverty is a real risk.

对于那些在自家田地种植茶叶的小型农民来说，不断严重的贫困问题将成为真正威胁。

So ETP is advising growers to take a tip from Alice Kariuki.

所以，ETP组织建议茶农来听取艾丽丝·卡里的建议。

“No, you cannot grow all the tea. You need the tea, you need the maize⁹ for eating. If you plant all the tea, you shall not have much money," she said.

你不能全种植茶叶。你需要茶叶，但是你还需要玉米来维持生计。如果你都种植了茶叶，那么你将陷入贫困。

Kariuki’s half-hectare plot is jam-packed with not just tea, but cabbages, broccoli¹⁰, maize and more. She has invested in cows, chickens and goats, and a biogas unit that turns their manure¹¹ into cooking fuel.

卡里的这片半公顷土地并没有种植茶叶，而是种满了洋白菜、西兰花以及玉米等。她还投资了奶牛、鸡、羊以及沼气池，沼气池将粪便变成了做饭的燃料。

“The animal is giving me milk, money, biogas," said Kariuki.

动物为我带来牛奶、沼气和资金。

ETP and others support training for farmers like Kariuki, so she can share her knowledge with her neighbors.

ETP等其他组织都希望其他农民也能够像卡里一样，这样她就可以与其他茶农分享经验。

It’s going slowly so far, but Steven Mwaniki is optimistic.

虽然现在的进展非常缓慢，但是史蒂文·万妮科依然非常乐观。

“The worst we could have done was to keep silent and pretend as if there is no climate change.  But it is good our farmers have realized climate change is with us. And it goes without saying we have to do something," he said.

最坏的事情我想是保持沉默，假装气候变化并没有发生。然而，茶农们已经意识到了气候变化的影响，这很好。不用说，我们必须做点什么。

Something they hope will keep Kenya’s tea industry going strong.

他们希望做一些能够让肯尼亚茶业走上富强的事情。

1 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

2 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

3 beverage   

n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料

参考例句：

• The beverage is often colored with caramel.这种饮料常用焦糖染色。
• Beer is a beverage of the remotest time.啤酒是一种最古老的饮料。

4 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

5 agronomist   

n.农学家

参考例句：

• The agronomist suggested growing rice on the dried river bed.那位农学家建议在干涸的河床上种水稻。
• She has elected to become an agronomist.她决心做一个农学家。

6 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

7 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 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。

10 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

11 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。