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1、VOA听写Scientists have worked for 12 years to develop what they call Green Super Rice. They say several varieties should be available to farmers about 2 years from now in parts of Asia and Africa. The green in Green Super Rice means environmentally friendly. Researchers say it will produce at least as

2、 much grain as other rice plants but with fewer inputs. Super means the rice is designed to better resist droughts, floods, salty water, insects and disease.The developers of Green Super Rice did not use genetic engineering. Instead, they mated hundreds of varieties of rice. That way they avoided th

3、e costs as well as the problems connected with getting permission to plant genetically engineered crops.The project involves the worlds largest rice collection, the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. It also involves the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. And it include

4、s farmers in 8 countries in Asia and 8 in Africa.Modern rice plants produce 2 to 3 times more grain than was possible before the 1960s. But they also require large amounts of water, chemical fertilizers and pesticides.科学家们花了12年时间来研究他们所谓的绿色超级稻。他们称很多品种可供亚非部分地区的农民在未来两年内种植。绿色超级稻中的“绿色”是指环保。研究人员称，它的产量和其他水

5、稻作物一样多，投入少。“超级”是指这个品种的水稻能更好的对抗干旱、洪涝、盐水和病虫害。绿色超级稻的发明者并没有运用遗传工程学。相反，他们将很多种类的水稻进行杂交。他们用这种方法避免了高额成本和由于种植遗传工程学水稻所带来的问题。世界最大的水稻机构位于菲律宾的国际水稻研究所参与了此项工程。中国农业科学研究所也有参与。同时还有分别来自亚洲和非洲八个国家的农民参加。现代水稻种植产量是20世纪60年代前的两到三倍。但是仍需大量的水、化肥和杀虫剂。In the 60s, the International Rice Research Institute developed miracle rice fo

6、r Asia. Scientists created high-yielding crops that produced bigger harvests in what became known as the Green Revolution. It prevented widespread hunger. But critics say modern rice plants require too much water and too much use of chemicals that can hurt the environment. And farmers may be too poo

7、r to buy chemical fertilizers and pesticides.Anna McClung heads a rice-breeding center for the United States Agriculture Department. She says combining many different genes into one plant without genetic engineering requires a lot of plant breeding. Ms. McClung praises the researchers working on Gre

8、en Super Rice.Another rice researcher, Jan Leach at Colorado State University, says scientists can find valuable qualities hidden in the rice genome. A genome contains all of the genetic information about an organism.Many of the traits are present, but they are not turned on until you get them into

9、the right genetic background, or sometimes in the right environment.Researchers on the Green Super Rice project continue to combine desirable traits into new varieties to help farmers produce more with less.60年代，国际水稻研究所为亚洲地区研发出了“神奇水稻”。科学家们培育了高产出农作物，这就是众所周知的“绿色革命”，这场革命遏制了大范围的饥荒。然而评论家称，现今的水稻种植对水和化学元素的

10、需求太高，这会对环境造成危害。并且农民们也可能承担不起化肥和杀虫剂的支出。安娜麦克朗是美国农业部水稻育种中心的主管。她表示，不使用基因工程手段而使多种不同的基因组合到一种植物上，这需要大量育种。麦克朗女士大大赞扬了为绿色超级水稻奋战的研究人员。另一名研究员简李奇来自科罗拉多州立大学，他表示，科学家们会发现水稻基因里潜藏的有效特质。基因承载着有机体所有的遗传信息。“许多生物特性是确实存在的，但是只有当你将它们置于适合的基因条件或者正确的环境中，它们才会表现出来。”绿色超级水稻的研究员们将继续组合各种可观的特性到新种作物上，以帮助农民以低成本创高产量。Traditional fisheries m

11、ay no longer be the worlds most important provider of fish. A new United Nations report shows that fish farming or aquaculture may soon lead fish production.The Food and Agriculture Organization says aquaculture is growing by a rate of 6.6% a year.Aquaculture now produces 46% of the worlds supply of

12、 fish. That represents a 43% increase from 2006. The report also said aquaculture earned more money in 2008 than traditional fisheries.The FAO headquarters in Rome published the document, State of the Worlds Fisheries and Aquaculture.In aquaculture, fish are raised in tanks or small bodies of water

13、called ponds. They also are raised in cages or nets in oceans, lakes and rivers.The report says increased aquaculture has helped people around the world eat record amounts of fish. The FAO says each person ate an average of almost 17 kilograms of fish last year.传统渔场或将不再是世界上鱼类最重要的供应者。一篇新的联合国报告显示水产养殖或

14、水产业可能会很快主导鱼类产品。粮农组织成水产业正以每年6.6%的速度增长。目前水产业承担着世界鱼类供应量的46%。这代表从2006年开始供应量增加了43%。这篇报告还说2008年水产业的收益比传统渔场的收益高。罗马的粮农组织总部发布了文件“世界渔场和水产业状况”。在水产业中，鱼类被饲养在水箱或池塘中。在海洋、湖泊和河流中他们被饲养在笼子或网中。报道说，水产业的增长使世界人民的吃鱼量再创新高。粮农组织说去年人均吃鱼量几乎是17公斤。But the FAO says the current yearly wild-fish harvest of 90,000,000 tons shows no i

15、mprovement. Decreasing numbers of fish and stronger catch limits have reduced the possibilities for catching wild fish. The FAO report says about 32% of world supplies are overfished, depleted or recovering. It said these supplies of fish need to be urgently rebuilt.Some scientists have criticized a

16、quaculture. They say the nets and cages permit fish diseases and pests to spread.Some aquaculture critics doubt that aquaculture can keep growing at the current rate. But Wally Stevens of the trade group Global Aquaculture Alliance says the industry must continue developing to feed growing populatio

17、ns.Mr. Stevens says a 100% increase in fish farming over 10 years is necessary to keep providing for people at the current level. He notes that aquaculture creates jobs and wealth, especially for people in coastal areas of China.The FAO reports that China remains the worlds largest fish-producing na

18、tion. China produces more than 60% of the worlds farmed fish. 然而联合国粮农组织表示，当前9000万吨的野生鱼类年产量并没有任何提高趋势。鱼类数量的减少以及捕捞限制的增强降低了捕获野生鱼类的可能性。粮农组织报告称，全球有大概32%的鱼类资源处于过度捕捞、枯竭的状态，或者仍在恢复当中。报告表示这部分鱼类资源急需重建。一些科学家批评了水产养殖的方式。他们说网箱养殖导致鱼类疾病和害虫的传播。有些水产业评论家质疑水产养殖能否以当前速率持续增长。不过，全球水产养殖联盟贸易集团的沃利史蒂文斯表示，水产业必须维持发展以适应人口的增长。史蒂文斯称，

19、未来10年渔业产量必须成倍增长才能适应以当前速度增长的人类的需求。他指出，水产养殖创造了就业机会和财富，尤其是对于中国沿海地区的人民而言。根据联合国粮农组织报告显示，中国仍是世界最大的渔业国。中国的水产养殖产量占到全球产量的60%以上。This week, the Obama administration announced a proposal to spend $53,000,000,000 over the next 6 years to build high-speed rail service in the country. President Obama first talked

20、about the idea when he was a senator campaigning to be president. Vice President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the high-speed rail plan at a train station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Biden said it would be good for the economy. He said the government investment p

21、roject would increase private business productivity.Republicans and Democrats generally support high-speed rail service. But they disagree on whether it should be paid for with federal money or through private investment.本周奥巴马政府提交新预算案，欲在6年内斥资530亿美元修建高铁网络。奥巴马总统在他作为参议员竞选总统时首次谈到过这一想法。副总统约瑟夫拜登和运输部长雷蒙德拉胡

22、德宣布在宾夕法尼亚州费城火车站建设高铁的计划。拜登称高铁网络将有利于经济发展。他说政府的投资计划将提高私营企业的生产率。共和党和民主党普遍支持高铁计划。但是他们就修建高铁的资金是由联邦政府支付，还是通过私人投资募得意见不一。The chairman of the House Transportation Committee, John Mica, called the idea embarrassing snail-speed trains to nowhere. The Republican lawmaker from Florida supports building such syste

23、ms with private money.However, it is questionable if these trains would qualify as bullet trains. Bullet trains generally travel more than 240 kilometers an hour. There are bullet trains in Japan, China and France.But such fast trains would take a long time to put in place in the United States. Fede

24、ral rules require a lot of examination for environmental and safety concerns. The other problem is expense. Super-fast trains require all new railroads and systems. Federal officials are thinking more about trains that are not so fast but could travel along improved and expanded railroads already in

25、 place. 众议院运输委员会主席约翰麦卡称这个提议是“不知开向何处的蜗牛般慢的尴尬火车”。 这位来自佛罗里达的共和党立法人支持以私人钱财来构建这样的高铁体系。然而，人们仍不知道这些火车能否成为子弹列车。子弹列车的运行时速一般高于240公里。日本、中国和法国都有子弹列车。但是这种高速列车要在美国落实到位还需要很长一段时间，而且联邦的条例对环境监测和安全考量要求都很高。其次还有一个问题就是费用。超级高速火车行驶要求安装全新的铁路和系统。联邦政府官员们正在积极考虑速度稍慢，但是能和现有改进铁路兼容的火车。Sub-Saharan Africa has the worlds highest hung

26、er rate. The United Nations says 30% of the people were undernourished last year. But a new report says African farmers also have ideas that could help the world fight hunger and poverty.Danielle Nierenberg from the Worldwatch Institute in Washington spent a year visiting 25 countries south of the S

27、ahara. In Nairobi, Kenya, for example, Ms. Nierenberg found women farmers growing vegetables just outside their doorsteps in the Kibera settlement.Its a slum. Its depressing. Its crowded. Its dirty. Its noisy. But these people are finding ways to make, you know, their lives better.The women use old

28、sacks filled with soil. They cut holes in the sides of the tall bags so air gets to the seeds. The women feed their families and sell their surplus. They use the money to send their children to school.Last year, an estimated 925,000,000 people worldwide did not get enough to eat. Half of all people

29、in the world now live in and around cities. Researchers like Ms. Nierenberg are looking increasingly at creative ideas to feed those who are malnourished.I think there are a lot of lessons that we in the Western world can learn from farmers in Africa. And what they are doing is certainly applicable

30、to other developing countries. 撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲大陆地区是世界上饥饿率最高的地方。联合国表明，去年全世界有30%的人营养不良。但是一项新的报告称，非洲农民们的一些方法可以帮助世界人民应对饥饿和贫困。来自华盛顿的世界观察研究所的丹尼尔.尼伦贝格用了一年的时间走访了撒哈拉沙漠以南的25个国家。比方说肯尼亚的奈洛比，尼伦贝格女士就发现生活在基贝拉生活区的一些女性农民直接将蔬菜种植在家门口。“这里是个贫民窟 - 萧条，拥挤，脏乱，嘈杂。但是这里的人们却都在努力的使自己的生活得到改善。”这里的女人们用旧的麻袋填满泥土。并在袋子的侧面上戳出一些小孔，让空气更好的接触到种子

31、。女人们用她们种植的蔬菜养活家人，再将剩余的拿去卖。并用卖的钱送她们的孩子们去学校读书。去年，预计全球有9.25亿人食不果腹。目前世界上有一半的人口生活在城市或是城市周边。越来越多像尼伦贝格这样的研究员开始关注能够养活营养不良人口的创造性方法。“我认为生活在西方世界的人可以向非洲的农民们学到很多的经验。而他们现在的做法也完全可以适用于其他发展中国家。”Farmers in the developing world lose between 20 and 40% of their harvest before it ever reaches market. Asma Lateef from th

32、e group Bread for the World says there are many reasons why food gets wasted.Farmers are without electricity and cold storage. They lack good seeds and fertilizer. They lack good roads. Ms. Lateef says conditions like these keep small farmers in poverty.Danielle Nierenberg says more attention needs to be paid to protecting harvests.Given all that we invest in producing food in the first place, we need to devote the same amount of attention to making sure that its not wasted.In Nigeria, village processing centers are helping farmers reduce their losses and earn more money. The centers p