VOA慢速英语 2007 1016a

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue disease are all animal viruses that can ruin a farmer.

An outbreak of one disease is bad enough. Britain has been dealing¹ with foot-and-mouth -- and now its first cases of bluetongue. United Nations officials see the recent arrival of that virus in the United Kingdom as another sign of a bigger problem.

The Food and Agriculture Organization says animal diseases once limited to warm, tropical climates are on the rise around the world. It says countries need to invest more to control them. It says things like the globalization of trade, the movement of people and goods and probably also climate change may only further their spread.

 
Sheep can be affected² by bluetongue disease
Bluetongue can kill sheep and cattle and other ruminant animals like goats and deer. It does not affect humans. The virus is spread by small biting flies called midges.

It was first discovered in South Africa. It spread widely and by the end of the nineteen nineties had crossed the Mediterranean³. Since last year, bluetongue has been found in several countries in northern Europe.

There are safe vaccines⁴ against forms of the southern virus, but not yet for the northern one.

But there is better news about one of the deadliest of all animal diseases: rinderpest. Some experts are hopeful that the world can be declared free of it by two thousand ten. This is the goal of the Global Rinderpest Eradication⁵ Program. Vaccines have helped speed the progress.

Rinderpest can lead to starvation in areas where people depend on cattle and buffalo⁶ for food and work. In the eighteen hundreds, it killed eighty to ninety percent of cattle in southern Africa. After another epidemic⁷ in the nineteen eighties, thirty-four African nations combined their efforts to fight the disease.

Rinderpest has also struck hard in central Asia, where it started. There have still been some outbreaks in recent years.

But the World Organization for Animal Health has declared most nations in the world free of rinderpest. They have not reported a case for at least five years.

Some other nations have declared themselves free of it for at least two years. But they still need official recognition⁸ for trade purposes.

Other animals affected by include yaks⁹, sheep, goats and some pigs. It can spread through the air. It can also spread through water infected with waste from sick animals. Some animals die after just a day or two.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I’m Steve Ember.

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

4 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

5 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

6 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

7 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

8 recognition   

n.承认，认可，认出，认识

参考例句：

• The place has changed beyond recognition.这地方变得认不出来了。
• A sudden smile of recognition flashed across his face.他脸上掠过一丝笑意，表示认识对方。

9 yaks   

牦牛( yak的名词复数 )； 笑话

参考例句：

• The jokes get yaks. 那笑话引人发笑。
• Social species including birds, fish and yaks must have companionship. 习惯群居的生物，包括鸟类、鱼类和（牛毛）牛必须有伙伴。