VOA慢速英语20060410a
时间：2019-01-30 作者：英语课 分类：2006年慢速英语（四）月
DEVELOPMENT REPORT - African Farmland Found to be Severely 1 InfertileBy Jill Moss 3
Broadcast: Monday, April 10, 2006
This is Shep O'Neal with the VOA Special English Development Report.
A new report says seventy-five percent of farmland in southern Africa has lost nutrients 5 needed to grow crops. The highest rates of nutrient 4 loss are in Guinea, Congo, Angola, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. More than sixty kilograms of nutrients per hectare are being lost each year. The study also warned that food imports to Africa would need to increase if immediate 6 action is not taken.
The international nonprofit organization I.F.D.C. released the report at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City last month. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo headed the event. He called on African leaders, aid groups and farming organizations to support a meeting in Nigeria in June to discuss Africa's soil crisis.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo at a Rockefeller Foundation news conference, March 30.
The meeting would discuss ways to increase agricultural productivity across Africa. These include reductions in nutrient mining, limits on cutting of trees, less use of infertile 2 grassland 7, and better farming methods that protect the environment. The meeting also would aim to increase the use of natural and manufactured chemical fertilizers in Africa.
Lack of rain is also harming soil fertility in Africa. The World Meteorological Organization says dry weather conditions in East Africa will continue in April. Several of the worst affected 8 areas have recorded their driest months since nineteen sixty-one. The United Nations warns that more than eleven million people in the area urgently need food assistance.
The World Food Program has launched a new program that could help pay for a possible humanitarian 9 emergency in Ethiopia this year. The U.N. agency has purchased an insurance agreement that will pay money if rainfall does not reach a certain level this year. The insurance policy is reported to have cost nine hundred thirty thousand dollars. It was awarded to a French insurance company.
The company will pay the World Food Program about seven million dollars if rainfall between March and October in Ethiopia is below a certain level. The money would be used to get emergency aid more quickly.
James Morris heads the World Food Program. He says the insurance program could help change the way governments think about emergency aid.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss. I'm Shep O'Neal. Our programs are online at www.unsv.com.
- He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
- He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
- Plants can't grow well in the infertile land.在贫瘠的土地上庄稼长不好。
- Nobody is willing to till this infertile land.这块薄田没有人愿意耕种。
- Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
- He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。
- Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
- The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。
- a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
- Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
- We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
- There is a reach of grassland in the distance.远处是连绵一片的草原。
- The snowstorm swept the vast expanse of grassland.暴风雪袭击了辽阔的草原。
- She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
- His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
- She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
- The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。