VOA慢速英语2012 Agriculture Report - Teaching Coffee Farmers About the Birds and the Bees

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

The University of Georgia is a respected research university. Thirty-five thousand students attend the main campus² in Athens, Georgia, and extended³ campuses⁴ around the state. And among its areas of research is agriculture.

佐治亚大学是一所受人尊敬的研究型大学。3.5万名学生就读于该校位于佐治亚州雅典城的主校区及该州周边的分校区。

UGA has a center in San Luis de Monteverde in Costa Rica. This center is for students and visitors who want to learn more about farming and living in environmentally friendly ways.

佐治亚大学在哥斯达黎加的San Luis de Monteverde拥有一个中心。该中心是为那些想要了解更多农业和环保生活方式的学生和游客而开设的。

Some students take a class called "Coffee: From Bean to Cup." Coffee is one of the most widely traded products in the world, and the most important agricultural product for Costa Rica.

一些学生参加了“从咖啡豆到咖啡杯”课程。咖啡是全球交易最广的一种产品，也是哥斯达黎加最重要的农产品。

Professor Valerie Peters teaches the class. Her students help her study coffee farms in an area called Finca la Bella. Farmers in this area agreed to grow their coffee sustainably, using methods that do less harm to the environment.

瓦莱丽·彼得斯（Valerie Peters）教授这门课程。她的学生帮助她研究Finca la Bella地区的咖啡农场。该地区农民同意采用减少对环境危害的可持续增长方式来种植咖啡。

Most coffee farms in Costa Rica have one or two different kinds of trees to help shade the coffee plants from the sun. In Finca la Bella most farms have at least twenty kinds of trees. Many of the farmers have also planted more flowers. When there are more flowers and more kinds of trees, more bees will come to pollinate the coffee plants. Coffee plants can pollinate themselves, but bees help increase the harvest.

哥斯达黎加大部分农场种有一到两种不同类型的树木帮助咖啡树遮荫。而在Finca la Bella地区，多数农场至少有20种树木。许多农民还种植了更多鲜花。鲜花和树木种类越多，就会有更多蜜蜂来帮助咖啡树授粉。咖啡树可以自授粉，但蜜蜂有助于增加收成。 

Professor Peters is working with her students to help teach farmers about the importance of bees and having more trees and flowers. "Many of the farmers commented that they never even thought of bees as having a role in their coffee production," she says.

彼得斯教授和她的学生一起致力于帮助农民了解蜜蜂以及种植更多树木和鲜花的重要性。她说，“许多农民评价说，他们甚至从未想过蜜蜂在咖啡生产中有这样的作用。”

Having more species⁵ of trees on coffee farms also provides more places for birds to live. If farmers have at least ten different kinds of trees per hectare, they may be able to have their coffee certified⁶ as "bird-friendly." This is done by the Smithsonian Migratory⁷ Bird Center in the United States. Bird-friendly coffee can sell for a higher price.

在咖啡农场种植更多种类的树木还能为鸟类提供更多栖息地。如果农民在每公顷土地上至少种植10种树木，他们就能让自己的咖啡获得鸟友（Bird Friendly）认证。这是由美国史密森迁徙鸟类中心颁发的。获得鸟友认证的咖啡可以卖出更高价钱。

The University of Georgia is also helping⁸ farmers in Costa Rica increase their income through tourism. Professor Quint Newcomer directs this program. He says students help design tour routes through coffee farms.

佐治亚大学还帮助哥斯达黎加农民通过旅游增加他们的收入。昆特·纽康玛（Quint Newcomer）教授负责这一项目。他表示，学生们帮忙设计穿过咖啡农场的旅游线路。

QUINT NEWCOMER: "These farmers become our teachers. They are sharing their local knowledge about how to work the land in a really sustainable way, and they become the teachers. But then our students can also help provide them with ideas and recommendations⁹ about how to improve their tour. And the more they improve it, the more people want to go."

纽康玛：“这些农民成为了我们的老师。他们就如何以真正可持续发展的方式耕种土地分享了他们的当地知识，这时他们成为了老师。但我们的学生也可以就如何改善旅游提供他们的意见和建议。他们改善得越多，就会有越多人想去旅游。”

UGA Costa Rica, as the center is called, also plans to increase the amount of locally produced food it buys. The goal is to buy at least fifty percent locally by twenty-fifteen.

佐治亚大学哥斯达黎加中心还计划增加本地食品的采购量。目标是到2015年前，将食物采购中地方食品的比例提高到至少50%。

And when the center needs wood for building, it buys only wood grown locally without artificial¹⁰ chemicals.

同时当该中心需要建筑木材时，只购买本地种植的无人造化学品的木材。

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. You can find more stories about coffee at www.voanews.cn, where you can also find texts and MP3s of our programs. I'm Karen Leggett.

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