VOA常速英语2014--亚洲细菌威胁到佛罗里达橘子树

 

Asian Bacteria Threatens Florida Orange Trees  亚洲细菌威胁到佛罗里达橘子树

Florida's citrus fruit industry is facing a serious threat from a bacteria carried by an Asian insect. The widespread infestation¹ again highlights the danger of transferring non-native species to American soil.

Citrus ranchers in Florida are burning orange trees damaged by a spotted² brown bug³ called psyllid. It is a native of Asia and carries what the Chinese call "the yellow dragon disease.

佛罗里达柑橘经营者们正在焚烧这种被称为木虱的棕色虫子破坏过的橘子树。这是一种原生亚洲的昆虫并且携带中国人称的“黄龙病”。

" Florida ranchers call it greening.”

“佛罗里达农场主们称它为绿虫。”

While feeding on citrus leaves, the bug infests⁴ them with bacteria that clog⁵ the tree's capillary⁶ system, slowly choking it to death. The fruit borne by the diseased plant is small, it falls off and the tree eventually dies.

以柑橘叶为食的这种小虫子自身携带的细菌会堵塞树的毛细管系统,导致树木慢慢窒息死亡。患病树木结出的果实很小,最终导致脱落引发树木死亡。

No citrus-growing countries have developed a cure.

而不种植柑橘的国家已经想出了一种治疗方法。

橘子树.jpg

Farmer Ellis Hunt is extremely frustrated⁷. “When you spend the money to raise it, and get it almost there, and it turns loose and hits the ground, that's...a disaster. That's heartbreaking.”

农民埃利斯?亨特感到非常沮丧。”当你花大价钱精心培育橘树,几乎就要开花结果,转瞬间功亏一篑,那是…一场灾难。令人感到心碎。”

To make matters worse, Florida's 9-billion citrus growing industry, second only to Brazil, is fighting growing foreign competition and declining sales due to U.S. consumers' growing aversion to sugar and carbohydrates⁸.

更糟糕的是, 仅次于巴西的佛罗里达90亿元蓬勃发展的柑橘产业,对抗日益趋增的外国竞争而且由于美国消费者厌恶糖和碳水化合物造成销售下降。

The industry's 75,000 jobs depend on finding a cure to the disease.

这个行业提供的75000个就业机会现在依赖于寻找治愈这一顽疾的良方。

At the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center, some of the world's best botanists⁹ and entomologists are trying to save the existing trees, grow new ones resistant¹⁰ to the bacterium¹¹, and make the insect incapable¹² of transmitting the disease.

而在佛罗里达大学的柑橘研究及教育中心,世界上最顶尖的一些植物学家和昆虫学家试图保存现有的橘树,培育新的抗菌树,使昆虫无法传播疾病。

Entomologist Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski said the problem is keeping her awake at night.

昆虫学家克里斯汀?佩雷兹?斯特林斯基表示这个问题让她不能安心入眠。

“It's something I think about every day. I think about it at night when I'm supposed to be sleeping. It's a huge problem, and we need to come up with as many tools as we can.”

“我每天都在思考解决之道。晚上睡觉时候都在想。这是一个大问题,我们需要想出尽可能多的工具。”

Pelz-Stelinski said it may take as long as five years to come up with a way to make the psyllid bug free of the dangerous bacteria.

佩雷兹?斯特林斯基表示可能需要长达5年的时间才能想出一个办法让木虱虫危险的细菌不再具有威胁。

In the meantime, botanists are experimenting with grafting¹³ as a way to keep the existing trees alive, while citrus farmers try to control the disease by spraying the trees and feeding them with nutrients-added expenses that further shrink their income.

同时,植物学家正在尝试嫁接的方式保持现有的树木生存,而柑橘种植者们试图通过喷洒树木和供给养分控制疾病费用,当然这会进一步降低他们的收入。

1 infestation   

n.侵扰，蔓延

参考例句：

• The premises were treated for cockroach infestation.因蟑螂成灾，这些房屋集中进行了灭蟑活动。
• Parts of California are suffering from an infestation of oriental fruit flies.加利福尼亚的部分地区正遭受东方果蝇的大肆侵袭。

2 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

3 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

4 infests   

n.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的名词复数 )；遍布于v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的第三人称单数 )；遍布于

参考例句：

• Crime infests that poor neighbourhood. 那个贫困街区犯罪猖獗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I have defeated Ordrak, but his darkness still infests the Ember here. 我击败了奥卓克，但是它的黑暗力量仍然寄宿在这里的灰烬水晶中。 来自互联网

5 clog   

vt.塞满，阻塞；n.[常pl.]木屐

参考例句：

• In cotton and wool processing,short length fibers may clog sewers.在棉毛生产中，短纤维可能堵塞下水管道。
• These streets often clog during the rush hour.这几条大街在交通高峰时间常常发生交通堵塞。

6 capillary   

n.毛细血管；adj.毛细管道；毛状的

参考例句：

• Rapid capillary proliferation is a prominent feature of all early wound healing.迅速的毛细血管增生是所有早期伤口愈合的一个突出表现。
• When pulmonary capillary pressure is markedly elevated,pulmonary edema ensues.当肺毛细血管压力明显升高时，就出现肺水肿。

7 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 carbohydrates   

n.碳水化合物，糖类( carbohydrate的名词复数 )；淀粉质或糖类食物

参考例句：

• The plant uses the carbohydrates to make cellulose. 植物用碳水化合物制造纤维素。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All carbohydrates originate from plants. 所有的碳水化合物均来自植物。 来自辞典例句

9 botanists   

n.植物学家，研究植物的人( botanist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Botanists had some difficulty categorizing the newly found plant. 植物学家们不大容易确定这种新发现的植物的种类。 来自辞典例句
• Botanists refer this flower to the rose family. 植物学家将这花归入蔷薇科。 来自辞典例句

10 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

11 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

12 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

13 grafting   

嫁接法，移植法

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。
• Burns can often be cured by grafting on skin from another part of the same body. 烧伤常常可以用移植身体其它部位的皮肤来治愈。