CNN 2012-08-17

 We’re going to start today with an incredible statistic¹. We want you to think about a map of the continental² United States. So, everything except Alaska and Hawaii. Researchers say that more than 60 percent of that area is suffering through drought conditions that are at least moderate, and a lot of places they are much more severe. 

 

A drought is a sustained period of dryness, and this one has been getting worse. You can see some of the effects here, the dry-cracked land, the damage to crops. That’s why the impact of this drought isn’t limited to the specific area that’s feeling the heat. Because of the damage to crops, food prices have been going up around the U.S. and around the world.

 

Here is another perspective on this - an I-Reporter sent in this aerial video from Indiana. He said, the corn crops should have a green look to them. Instead, as you can see, they are yellow brown. Martin Savidge filed this next report from Tennessee. He is looking at the impact this drought is having on some other industries.

 

You might think this is some kind of desert just outside of Memphis. It’s not. I’m actually standing³ on the exposed bottom of the Mississippi River. That’s how dramatic the drought impact is being felt here. Hard to believe, a year ago we were talking about record flooding. Now, they are worried about a new kind of record: a record low. The river was three miles wide here, it’s now down to three tenths of a mile. And that’s causing all kinds of problems. There are some benefits, I mean, take a look over here: new beach front. In fact, some have a quip(妙语；讽刺；双关语) now that the Mississippi River has more beaches than the entire state of Florida, which would be funny if it didn’t have an impact on trade.

 

A lot of stuff we use goes up and down the Mississippi River. We are talking steel, coal, ore, grain. The problem is now a lot of those barges⁴ have had to lighten their loads, and even doing that, they are still running aground. There is a real fear that there could be a possibility of closing the Mississippi River. If that happens, well, all that product that used to be carried cheaply by barge⁵ is now going to be carried more expensively by truck or train. And guess who is going to pay for all of that.

 

Is this legit? The last time a South American city hosted the Olympics was in 1968.

 

Nope, South America has never hosted the Olympics, although that’s set to change soon.

 

In fact, the next Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place in Brazil. You know, you’ll be thinking the Olympics just ended. Why are we already talking about the next summer games? It’s because the people who are organizing it have to make sure they are ready in time, and a lot goes into that. Rio De Janeiro was announced as the host of the 2016 Olympics. They got the news back in 2009, giving the city seven years to get everything done. Rio is known for its beaches, but there are some questions about its infrastructure⁶, its set-up, how will it deal with Olympic traffic? Are there enough hotel rooms? Also, some of the venues⁷ for the Olympics have to be built. Officials insist they are on schedule, plus they have another major sporting event before the Olympics, they can use this as kind of a test run. Brazil is hosting soccer’s world cup championship in 2014.

 

 

From South America, we are moving to Saudi Arabia. The Middle Eastern country is planning to build a new city with a really interesting rule: no men are allowed in it. The idea is to give a boost to Saudi Arabia’s female workforce⁸. Women are allowed to have jobs in Saudi Arabia, but their options have been limited because of the Islamic laws that govern the country. This women-only city would change that. Construction is scheduled to start next year. Officials think the plan could create thousands of jobs for women. Nic Robertson explains some of the reasons for a new city.

 

 

Why are they doing this? Why are they creating women-only environments? Well, they say the strictures of Shia law, Islamic law in the country mean that men and women cannot work side by side. So, until now, the many female graduates that the country has been producing have been going into the education sector⁹. What the government is trying to do here, is open up other business centers: textiles, food processing and such like. Also, Saudi Arabia recognizes it’s falling behind the region in terms of the number of women or the percentage of women in their country that are employed. In Saudi Arabia, it’s only about 15 percent of women represented in a workforce.

1 statistic   

n.统计量；adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• Official statistics show real wages declining by 24%.官方统计数字表明实际工资下降了24%。
• There are no reliable statistics for the number of deaths in the battle.关于阵亡人数没有可靠的统计数字。

2 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 barges   

驳船( barge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tug is towing three barges. 那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
• There were plenty of barges dropping down with the tide. 有不少驳船顺流而下。

5 barge   

n.平底载货船，驳船

参考例句：

• The barge was loaded up with coal.那艘驳船装上了煤。
• Carrying goods by train costs nearly three times more than carrying them by barge.通过铁路运货的成本比驳船运货成本高出近3倍。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

8 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。