VOA常速英语2013--启动创新实验室以解决饥饿问题

 

启动创新实验室以解决饥饿问题

Around the world, more than 870 million people, or one in eight, suffer from chronic¹ hunger. The majority of them live in developing countries. Growth in the agricultural sector² is, on average, at least twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth in other sectors³, so to help reduce poverty and improve the food security and nutrition of some of the world’s poorest, the Obama Administration launched the Feed the Future initiative.

全世界有超过8.7亿人，即八分之一的人遭受长期饥饿，其中多数生活在发展中国家。农业部门的发展在减少饥饿方面所见的平均成效，至少是其他部门的两倍，因此，为了减少饥饿，改善全世界最贫困地区的粮食安全和营养状况，奥巴马政府发起了未来粮食保障行动计划。

With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future helps countries develop their own agricultural sectors to increase economic opportunities and incomes for farmers and help build resilience.

该计划关注小农户，尤其是妇女们，还帮助各国发展农业生产部门，从而帮助农民增加经济机会和收入，从而提高抗变性。”

Feed the Future emphasizes innovation, supports efforts to help smallholder farmers sustainably increase food production, adapt to climate change, and increase the adoption⁴ of transformative technologies and innovations.

未来粮食保障行动计划注重创新，为小农户提供帮助大力提高粮食产量，适应气候变化，增加变革性技术和创新的采用。

In late July, USAID Administrator⁵ Dr. Rajiv Shah announced the launch of two new Feed the Future Innovation Laboratories that will work to improve climate resilience in some of Africa’s main cereal crops and increase private sector investment that can help smallholder farmers.

7月底，美国国际开发署(USAID)署长拉吉夫·沙阿博士宣布启动两个新的未来粮食保障行动计划实验室，努力改善非洲主要粮食作物的气候适应性，增加对企业的投资，使之有益于小农户。

The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum⁶ & Millet⁷ will be led by Kansas State University. U.S. researchers and partner country scientists will address key constraints⁸ along the sorghum and pearl millet value chains, to develop new technologies that can then be used by smallholder farmers on a larger scale to increase productivity and sustainability.

未来粮食保障行动计划实验室高粱和小米合作研究由堪萨斯州立大学负责，美国研究者和合作国科学家们将解决高粱和珍珠小米价值链上的主要限制因素，开发能被小农户大规模使用的新技术，从而增加产量并提高可持续性。

The technologies and innovative⁹ approaches developed through this program aim to help improve resilience in dryland areas, where sorghum and pearl millet are critical to food security.

该项目开发的技术和革新方法意在帮助提高干旱地区的恢复力，这些地区的高粱和珍珠小米对粮食安全来说至关重要。

The second laboratory, the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy, will be led by a consortium including Michigan State University, the International Food Policy Research Institute and the University of Pretoria. The lab aims to help increase the capacity of partner countries to find and implement¹⁰ improved food security policies that can help facilitate greater food security and nutrition.

第二个实验室是未来粮食保障行动计划粮食安全政策实验室将由包括密歇根州立大学、国际粮食政策研究所和比勒陀利亚大学在内的联盟负责。该实验室意在提高伙伴国找到并实施有助于提高粮食安全和营养的粮食安全政策。

Both Innovation Labs will also help partner countries strengthen the next generation of agricultural science and policy leaders through higher education opportunities and by helping¹¹ build the institutional capacity of local and national organizations.

两个创新实验室还将帮助伙伴国加强下一代农业科学，并向政策领导者提供更好的教育机会，帮助提高当地和国家组织的制度能力。

As Dr. Shah has said before, “By embracing high-impact partnerships¹², science, and technology, we can achieve progress simply unimaginable in the past, including the end of extreme poverty, widespread hunger and chronic malnutrition¹³.”

沙阿博士以前说过，“通过建立具有高度影响力的伙伴关系、科学和技术，我们可以实现以前不敢想象的成就，包括结束极端贫困、普遍饥饿和慢性营养不良。

1 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

2 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

5 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

6 sorghum   

n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西

参考例句：

• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。
• They made sorghum into pig feed.他们把高粱做成了猪饲料。

7 millet   

n.小米，谷子

参考例句：

• Millet is cultivated in the middle or lower reaches of the Yellow River.在黄河中下游地区，人们种植谷子。
• The high quality millet flour was obtained through wet milling.采用湿磨法获得了高品质的小米粉。

8 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

10 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

13 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。