时间:2018-12-08 作者:英语课 分类:2016年VOA慢速英语(二)月


英语课

AS IT IS 2016-02-29 Federal Government Owns Almost Half of Western US


The United States government owns nearly a third of the nation’s land, including nearly half of Western states.


In the rest of the country, the federal government owns just 4 percent of the land. For most Americans, federally-owned -- or public -- land is not a major issue.


But for people who live in the West, federal or public land ownership can be an issue.


The federal government owns almost 47 percent in the Western states of California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. In Nevada, the U.S. government owns 85 percent of the land.


Farmers and ranchers who depend on land for their livelihood 1 have clashed with government officials about how to use the land.


Having land helped to create a strong federal government. But by the mid-1800s, the government was selling land in the West to encourage people to move there.


The Congressional Research Service is an agency that gives information to the U.S. Congress. It says the federal government gave away or sold about 522 million hectares of federal land between 1781 and 2013.


Few people live on or near federal land in the West. Much of the land is national forests, places for wildlife to live without being hunted, parks used to protect and grow plants and animals, and recreation areas.


Much of the land is used for fishing, grazing, hunting and logging.


The federal government still buys land. But since 1990, federal or public lands have decreased by more than 3 percent, or 9.5 million hectares.


Some state lawmakers in the West want the federal government to release more land. They have written bills, or legislation, that call on their state to take control of federal lands.


But fishermen and hunters who use the lands worry that if the state takes control, the land will be sold to private owners. They may then be unable to use the land.


Many people have different goals and plans for the land. It will continue to be an issue for citizens, industry and politicians.


Words in This Story


encourage – v. to make (someone) more likely to do something


park – n. a large area of public land kept in its natural state to protect plants and animals


recreation – n. something people do to relax or have fun; activities done for enjoyment 2


graze – v. to eat grass or other plants that are growing in a field or pasture


log – v. to cut down trees in an area for wood



1 livelihood
n.生计,谋生之道
  • Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
  • My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。
2 enjoyment
n.乐趣;享有;享用
  • Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同,我们这次访问更加愉快了。
  • After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话,这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。
标签: VOA慢速英语
学英语单词
anticars
argid
balog
beach-comber
benefactive role
boundary treatment
building boom
business-interruption insurance
cable-dump truck
car repair in depot
carboloy disulphide
coaxest
comajor
cone-plate viscometer
cribble
cumulo-dome
cybernetics
dermatostomatitis
diffraction reflection
direct resistance-coupled amplifier
djj
double least squares method
event-driven procedure
exteriority
famewhore
flavoured meat
gas space heater
giga electron volt
gunma
Hebridean Isles
hegyi
highway ferry
hirschfelds
hold her sides with laughter
holonomic constraints
hotseats
HSP21
illepe fat
induced labour
integrative medicine
Kaweka
Latah County
limnocharis flava buchen
losey
lymphonodi ilici
magnolia sinensis stapf
medium irrigated emulsion
mild ale
mysap workplace
nasal dilator
nukuoro atoll
octadecadienoic
oil-well cement
ol.
Old High German
paradoxology
paraquet
passband fluctuation
Pedicularis tatarinowii
pharmaceutical botany
phosphor partition ratio
pick up ears of wheat
pittsburghs of the south
political models of decision making
pome(pomum)
process conflict
program-controlled software interrupt
Proper Lookout
PSEUDOCRENILABRUS
quadrant balance
receipt rolls
regauged
resanate
residual bias
riesmen
road crossing design
rocket engine plume
root canal drier
rubber-tire
S.R.L.
Saddam bin Hussein at-Takriti
scour for
sheret
shock-induced boundary layer
slimy sculpin
slow motion starter
spray-painted
sueo
Synchronous Rectification
telegraphones
telesynd
text-type
the way things are
Three's a crowd.
transculturisation
velvel
virtue signaling
Vitaglass
weighing-and-recording gear
winter solstice
Yerkes system
zebraplatys bulbus