时差N小时 沙漠的希望之光

Don: Holy guayule,Yale.

唐：神圣的灰白银胶菊，雅艾尔。

Yael: Holy what?

雅艾尔：神圣的什么？

Don: Guayule. It's a desert-dwelling shrub¹ from the Southwest.

唐：灰白银胶菊。它是一种生长在西南部沙漠中的灌木。

Yael: What about guayule? I never even heard of it.

雅艾尔：灰白银胶菊是什么样的？我从来没听过。

Don: Several things. One of the most important features of the guayule plant is that it is a source of natural latex, ideal for making gloves and other natural rubber products used in the medical industry. But unlike the more common latex extracted from rubber trees, latex from guayule plants does not contain the proteins that cause severe allergic² reactions in some people.

唐：有几件事你应该了解一下。灰白银胶菊最重要的特点是它能分泌天然乳胶，是制造手套以及其它医疗工厂使用的橡胶制品的理想原料。但是跟常见的那些从橡胶树上提取的乳胶不同，从灰白银胶菊中提取的乳胶中没有会使人产生严重过敏反应的蛋白质。

Yael: Nice.

雅艾尔：不错。

Don: But that's not all. Crop researchers have discovered that the guayule plant is a potentially valuable source of energy. After the latex is extracted from the plant, you're left with the ground up stems and branches—called “bagasse.” Bagasse from guayule contains about as much potential energy per pound as charcoal³. USDA chemists are working to develop efficient methods to convert bagasse into ethanol and other consumer ready products. Guayule has a few advantages as a source for biofuel. One is that it grows and thrives in the desert. That means it can grow in areas where other crops can't. Guayule shrubs⁴ can also be harvested year round, and require very little fertilizer or chemicals to grow. On top of that, the latex extraction process uses only water, no harsh solvents⁵, so the process of producing latex and bagasse is relatively⁶ clean.

唐：还不止这些呢。研究者们还发现银胶菊是一种很有开发前景的能源。当你把乳胶从植物里提取出来后，就会剩下一大堆银胶菊的秸秆，我们称为“甘蔗渣”。每磅甘蔗渣里含有的能量和每磅木炭一样多。美国农业部的化学家正在研发一种有效的方法，以便把这些甘蔗渣转化成乙醇和其他可供消费的产品。作为生物燃料，银胶菊有一些优势。其中一项就是他在沙漠中茁壮的生长，这就表示了它能在其他生物无法生存的环境中存活。银胶菊灌木一年就能收获吗？它全年都能收获，且只需要一点点肥料和化学药剂。除此之外，银胶菊的乳胶提取工艺只需要水就够了，不需要严格的溶剂。所以生产乳胶和甘蔗渣的过程是比较清洁的。

Yael: That does sound promising⁷. I'LL look forward to hearing more about guayule in the future.

雅艾尔：那听起来的确很有前途，我期望以后能多了解一些银胶菊的知识。

Don: I suspect we will.

唐：我猜会有机会的。

1 shrub   

n.灌木，灌木丛

参考例句：

• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
• Moving a shrub is best done in early spring.移植灌木最好是在初春的时候。

2 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

3 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

4 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

5 solvents   

溶解的，溶剂

参考例句：

• It is resistant to borohydride reduction in alcoholic solvents. 在醇溶剂中，它不能被硼氢化物还原。
• Strains require special treatments for removal such as spotting with organic solvents. 要清除这些着色物质，需要特殊处理，例如：滴加有机溶剂。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。