VOA慢速英语2012 Agriculture Report - Water Problems and the World

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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。

A new American intelligence report says water-related problems will likely increase tensions around the world in the next ten years. These problems include water shortages, poor water quality and floods.

一份新的美国国情报告称，未来十年，水问题将可能增加世界各地的紧张局势。这些问题包括水资源短缺，水质差和水灾。

The report says the problems will increase the risk of instability and the failure of governments. However, countries are seen as unlikely to go to war over water. The report says water tensions have historically led to more water-sharing agreements than violent conflicts.

该报告称，这些问题会增加政府不稳定和崩溃的风险。然而，各个国家被视为不可能因为水开战，水资源紧张局面历来会产生更多水资源共享协议而不是暴力冲突。

But beyond ten years, it warns that some governments could use water as a weapon to pressure others. And water could also be used to "further terrorist objectives."

但该报告警告称，十年之后，一些政府会把水当作武器向其它国家施压。水还会被当作“更进一步的恐怖主义目标。”

The report is called an Intelligence Community Assessment¹ on Global Water Security. It looks at possible effects of water problems on United States national security interests over the next thirty years. It says the areas that will be most affected² by water problems are North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

这份报告被称为《全球水资源安全情报机构评估》。它着眼于未来30年水资源问题对美国国家安全利益可能造成的影响，并表示，北非、中东和南亚将是受水资源问题影响最大的地区。

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the report last Thursday on World Water Day. The National Intelligence Council wrote the report based on a National Intelligence Estimate she requested a year ago.

美国国务卿希拉里·克林顿（Hillary Clinton）于上周四的世界水日公布了这一报告。美国国家情报委员会根据她一年前提出的国家情报评估要求撰写了这份报告。

HILLARY CLINTON: "Reliable access to water is essential for feeding the hungry, running the industries that promote jobs, generating the energy that fuels national growth, and certainly it is central when we think about how climate change will affect future generations."

克林顿：“可靠的水资源对供养饥饿人口，发展可以促进就业的产业，制造可以推动经济增长的能源都是至关重要的。它也是我们考虑气候变化对子孙后代影响的一个核心因素。”

The report says water-related problems could distract countries from working with the United States on important policy goals. But it also predicts an increased demand for American aid and expert help to solve those problems. That demand could create "opportunities for leadership" and influence.

报告称，水问题可能会使各国在同美国共同致力于重要政策目标上分心。但它也预测，对美国援助和专家需求的提升有助于解决这些问题。这类需求可以创建“领导机会”和影响力。

The report says, "Water shortages, poor water quality, and floods by themselves are unlikely to result in state failure." But these could combine with poverty, social tensions, environmental problems, poor leadership and weak governments to produce social disorder³. And that combination could cause state failure.

报告称，“水资源短缺，水质差和水灾自身不太可能导致国家崩溃。”但这些和贫穷、社会紧张局势、环境问题、领导不力以及软弱政府结合起来，就会导致国家崩溃。”

The report predicts that from now through twenty forty, "water shortages and pollution probably will harm the economic performance of important trading partners." During the next ten years, it says, the loss of groundwater supplies in some agricultural areas will create a risk to national and global food markets. These shortages will be a result of poor management.

该报告预测，从现在到2040年，“水资源短缺和污染可能将会损害重要贸易伙伴的经济表现。”它还称，在未来十年，一些农业地区地下水供应的损失将给国家和全球粮食市场带来风险。这类短缺将是管理不善的结果。

Agriculture uses about seventy percent of the world's freshwater. The report says technology that reduces the amount of water needed to grow crops will offer the best defense⁴ against shortages.

农业使用了世界淡水的70%。报告称，降低种植农作物所需水量将是应对短缺的最佳之策。

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. You can learn more about the world's water problems at voanews.cn. I'm Jim Tedder⁵.

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Contributing: Christopher Cruise and Steve Baragona

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