英语听力—环球英语 847 A Plant for All Seasons

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Colin Lowther.
Voice 2
And I’m Robin² Basselin. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live
Voice 1
Mr. Banani is a farmer in the African country Mali. Mr. Banani shared his story with reporter Lydia Polgreen. One day, his brothers encouraged him to try a new crop. He had trees around his farm, to protect his food crops from the wind. The trees dropped poisonous black seeds. But they did not seem to have any other use. But Mr. Banani’s brothers wanted him to plant these trees in his field! They said that these seeds could make oil to power a generator⁴, or vehicle⁵. And they also said that with these seeds, Mr. Banani could make a lot of money!
Voice 2
So what was this amazing plant? Are farmers like Mr. Banani successful? Today’s Spotlight is on the promise and problems of the Jatropha plant.
Voice 1
The ground is dry. It is covered with sand and rocks. The wind blows the sand around. There is no sign of water. But under the ground there is water, in small amounts. And this is enough for Jatropha. When it is too dry, Jatropha is dormant⁶ - it sleeps. When there is any water at all, it will start to grow again.
Voice 2
Jatropha is a small tree, about three to five metres tall. However, when conditions are good it can grow as high as ten metres! Its large green leaves fall off in the winter. It produces white flowers and fruits several times each year. And when people crush⁷ the seeds, oil comes out. This oil is very useful.
Voice 1
For the last several years, scientists have been using Jatropha seeds to make biofuel. Fuel is something that everyone uses. The most common fuel in the world is oil. Oil powers most of our modern life. As gasoline⁸, it powers cars, trucks and airplanes. It also powers machinery⁹. People use it to create electricity too.
Voice 2
But traditional oil has many problems. It is taken from the earth, through mining. Once it is used, it is gone - there is a limited amount. It is only found in some places. And it can be dangerous. Miners¹⁰ can be hurt or killed. And it causes serious pollution.
Voice 1
Some people have suggested that biofuel could be the answer to this problem. Biofuel is oil that comes from other resources¹¹ - like the Jatropha plant. The seeds from one hectare¹² of Jatropha can produce as much as six hundred litres¹³ of oil. This is when conditions are good, with enough water and sun light. Even when conditions are less good, the same area of Jatropha can produce about two hundred litres of oil.
Voice 2
Oil grown this way is renewable. That is, it can never be used up completely¹⁴. People can always grow more Jatropha seeds. And it is not dangerous to grow, or harvest the oil. Scientists combine this plant oil with traditional oil from the ground. This is biofuel.
Voice 1
People are already using Jatropha oil in the Philippines. In India, it helps to power a train that runs from Mumbai to Delhi. There, Jatropha plants grow by the railway line. In New Zealand one airline has tested the use of Jatropha oil. The plant grows well in South America and the oil from the seeds is used in South America’s largest country, Brazil. Oil from Jatropha is also used in Mali in Africa, and there are plans to use it in Namibia as well.
Voice 2
Jatropha can grow in many places, even in poor soil. It can live for over fifty years. It can survive long periods without rain. And, instead of taking food out of the soil, it feeds the soil. People in India say that the plant is easy to grow. By putting its roots down in sand, it prevents the land from becoming a desert. For the same reason it helps to prevent the rain from washing away good soil. In some places, farmers use it between fields, to protect their crops from high wind.
Voice 1
You may think that Jatropha is the perfect plant. It is easy to grow. It provides fuel, and food for the soil. It can grow in many kinds of soil, and it can survive when there is no rain. So why is development so slow? And why did one of the world’s major oil companies stop supporting a project which involved Jatropha?
Voice 2
One reason may be that the plant contains poison³. People can cook and eat Jatropha seeds. But eating even three uncooked seeds can kill a person. So Jatropha cannot be used as a food crop. In Western Australia, the authorities¹⁵ banned one kind of Jatropha in 2005 because it contained poison. But the Australians had another reason too. They said that the plant was invasive. That is, it takes land away from native plants. It spreads quickly, and it can kill other plants.
Voice 1
There is another problem. Farmers in many places hope that Jatropha will be a way to make more money. European countries are trying to increase the use of biofuels like Jatropha. Because of this important market, governments in developing¹⁶ countries have encouraged farmers to grow Jatropha.
Voice 2
Jatropha does grow well in dry conditions. But Jatropha produces the most oil when it can drink a lot of water. And people have mainly encouraged it in places without much water. So it has not produced as much oil as scientists promised. This has lead major oil companies to stop their support of Jatropha. In places where it is grown, Jatropha crops have taken water and land away from food crops. Farmers grow Jatropha, instead of much needed food crops.
Voice 1
The last word today comes from the people of Kenya. There, the government is encouraging farmers to grow Jatropha. But people are afraid that Jatropha will stop good native plants from growing. They are also worried about how much water it will need to grow well. The country is moving forward with Jatropha plants. But will it help or hurt the farmers?
Voice 2
What do you think? Should farmers and companies invest¹⁷ in Jatropha? Or should they be concentrating¹⁸ on other kinds of plants?

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

3 poison   

n.毒药；毒害；vt./vi.毒害；投毒

参考例句：

• The bottle is labelled "Poison".瓶上标明“有毒”。
• Don't allow evil thoughts to poison young people's minds.不允许邪念毒害青年。

4 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

5 vehicle   

n.车辆，交通工具，运载工具；媒介，表现手段

参考例句：

• Air is the vehicle of sound.空气是声音传播的媒介。
• The power plant burns used vehicle tyres as fuel.这家电厂用废弃轮胎作燃料。

6 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

7 crush   

v.压垮，压倒，压服，镇压；压碎，碾碎

参考例句：

• This machine is made to crush the rock into powder.这台机器是用来把石头压成碎末的。
• You can't crush so many people into the classroom.不能让这么多人挤进教室。

8 gasoline   

n.(美)汽油

参考例句：

• This car runs 5 miles on a gallon of gasoline.这部汽车一加仑汽油可以行驶五英里。
• There is still some gasoline left in the tank.油箱里还剩下一些汽油。

9 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

10 miners   

矿工( miner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The coal miners have come out for about two weeks. 煤矿工人已罢工约两周了。
• The roof of the cave dropped in on the miners, trapping them. 洞穴的顶部坍了下来，砸在矿工身上。

11 resources   

n.勇气；才智；谋略；有助于实现目标的东西；资源( resource的名词复数 )；[复数]物力；办法；来源

参考例句：

• The world's resources are rapidly diminishing. 世界资源正在迅速减少。
• a policy to equalize the distribution of resources throughout the country 使资源在全国分布均衡的政策

12 hectare   

n.公顷

参考例句：

• A hectare is equal to 15 mu.1公顷合15市亩。
• The lands were to be sold at $2.50 per hectare.土地的售价为每公顷2.50美元。

13 litres   

n.升( litre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 3 litres of water 3升水
• The barrel would hold 100 litres. 这桶能装一百升。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 completely   

adv.完全地，十分地，全然

参考例句：

• She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
• I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。

15 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 developing   

adj.发展中的

参考例句：

• Transport has always been the key to developing trade.运输一直是发展贸易的关键。
• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。

17 invest   

v.投资；投入(时间等)；授予，赋予

参考例句：

• I have decided to invest in a new car.我已经决定买一辆新汽车。
• The best time to invest is now.现在是投资的最佳时机。

18 concentrating   

v.专心于( concentrate的现在分词 )；注意；集中；聚集

参考例句：

• Many firms are concentrating on increasing their markets overseas. 许多公司正在集中精力开拓它们的海外市场。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The audience is all concentrating with rapt attention on taking notes. 人们都在全神贯注地记笔记。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》