VOA标准英语2013--美国政府关闭阴影投下承诺收获

 

US Government Shutdown Casts Shadow Over Promising¹ Harvest 美国政府关闭阴影投下承诺收获

Just one year after a catastrophic drought damaged vast areas of farmland in the Midwestern United States, farmers heading to the fields to harvest one of the best crop yields in years have been dealing² with another obstacle - the partial shutdown of the U.S. Government. As VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports from Polo, Illinois, the shutdown has had a ripple³ effect, affecting everything from subsidies⁴ to loans to the price of grains and meat that farmers are trying to sell.

就在美国中西部遭受了大片地区的干旱的一年后，农民们都奔向耕田准备迎接近些年来之不易的丰收，然而，这却遭到了另一个障碍——美国政府的临时关闭。美国之声记者凯恩·法拉博从伊利诺斯州的保罗带回报道，美国政府的关闭引起了连锁反应，几乎影响了一切，从补助到贷款，从粮食价格到农民去努力出售的肉类的价格。

2013 is shaping up to be a golden harvest for Illinois farmer Brian Duncan. “The crops this year are really good… really good crops.”

The corn stalks in his fields are tall and plentiful⁵, a dramatic change from last year’s harvest, when a historic drought reduced crop yields throughout the United States.

But while much of what Duncan sees is promising, it’s Washington, D.C., that gives him the greatest concern.

“There was supposed to be a major crop report last Friday that could have been a market-moving report one way or the other, the October Crop Reduction Report. It wasn’t released,” he said.

That’s because the U.S. Department of Agriculture was partially⁶ shut down, and no one was available to publish the reports.

“When we’ve got the potential for a good size crop coming in, nobody knows how big the crop is, how much the carry over is going to be," said LaSalle County farmer Monty Whipple, who also serves as president of the local Farm Bureau. "All those government programs regarding crop size are on hold because nobody is keeping statistics, because nobody is showing up for work.”

He said the government shutdown has had a ripple effect on farmers across the country.

It’s been noticeable mostly because the branch offices of the Agriculture Department have been closed and government programs for farmers have been on hold.

"If you are expecting any kind of a program payment yet this year, you are obviously not getting it. If you have programs you want to enroll⁷ for, they’re not taking enrollments. If you want to put your crop money under loan, that federal loan money that’s available is not going through,” said Whipple.

“I’m waiting for a sign-off on a new hog⁸ building, that I’m participating with a government program, the EQIP Program," said Duncan. "And were ready to go. October 1st it should have been signed off on. No one is in the office to sign off on it. So there we sit.”

As Duncan sits in his combine and focuses on this year’s harvest, he also is thinking about next year’s planting season.

“We’re making decisions as far as ordering seed, cropping mix, and we don’t know what insurances will be available to us, what pricing will be available to us, and we sit here without much information,” said Duncan.

That’s because once lawmakers have dealt with the debt ceiling and reopened the federal government, they will have to tackle another issue of big concern to farmers - passing new Farm Bill legislation. The deadline is January 1. 

1 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。

2 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。

3 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

4 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

6 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

7 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

8 hog   

n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占

参考例句：

• He is greedy like a hog.他像猪一样贪婪。
• Drivers who hog the road leave no room for other cars.那些占着路面的驾驶员一点余地都不留给其他车辆。