VOA标准英语2013--2013年世界粮食创新奖

 

2013 World Food Innovation Award 2013年世界粮食创新奖

Dr. Norman Borlaug, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who is recognized as the "father of the Green Revolution," established in 1986 the World Food Prize, to recognize the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. 

Since that time, a number of other awards have been introduced under the World Food Prize umbrella. 

One of the newest awards is the Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application. The award, which is endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation, recognizes a research scientist, an extension worker (that is, an agricultural advisor), or other individual who best emulates¹ the dedication², perseverance³ and innovation demonstrated by Dr. Borlaug. This year’s recipient⁴ is Dr. Charity Mutegi, a Kenyan scientist who made major breakthroughs in combating the deadly aflatoxin mold contamination.

Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring mold, and one of the most carcinogenic substances known. It has been a serious postharvest loss problem around the world for decades. It is toxic⁵ to people who consume it either directly through contaminated grain, or through the milk or meat of livestock⁶ that had fed on contaminated grain.

In 2004-05, 125 people died in eastern Kenya after eating aflatoxin-contaminated grain. Dr. Mutegi spearheaded efforts to identify the cause of the deaths, as well as research to avert⁷ future outbreaks and safeguard the region’s staple⁸ crop of maize⁹. Since then, she’s been in the forefront of efforts to develop a bio-control product that could significantly reduce aflatoxin levels in maize--a non-toxic strain of the fungus¹⁰ that would out-compete and push out the toxic strain. This low-cost technology was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture and locally adapted for use in several African countries.

“Dr. Mutegi is an inspiration to other young scientists around the world. She tackled a critical problem, and has effectively transferred her own scientific knowledge to farmers and policymakers to help improve food safety for the entire region,” said Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, President of The World Food Prize. “Like Dr. Borlaug, she has put the needs of people first, and has shown persistence¹¹, innovation, effective communication, contribution to science, and application of that science to improve lives and livelihoods¹².”

1 emulates   

v.与…竞争( emulate的第三人称单数 )；努力赶上；计算机程序等仿真；模仿

参考例句：

• A device or computer program that emulates. 一种可以进行仿真的设备或计算机程序。 来自辞典例句
• Sleep Timer Emulates the time found in most TVs. 睡眠计时器模拟时发现，大多数电视。 来自互联网

2 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

3 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

4 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

5 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

6 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

7 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

8 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

9 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

10 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

11 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

12 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。