VOA慢速英语2012 Agriculture Report - Irrigation Pioneer Wins World Food Prize

 

Agriculture Report - Irrigation Pioneer Wins World Food Prize

农业报道 - 滴灌技术开创者获得世界粮食奖

From VOA Learning¹ English, this is the Agriculture Report in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

A researcher who helped make crops grow in dry land areas received the World Food Prize last week. Daniel Hillel was recognized for his work in developing what is called “micro-irrigation” or “drip² irrigation.” It has made farming possible in places where there is little rainfall or water.

上周，一名帮助作物在干旱地区生长的研究人员获得了世界粮食奖。丹尼尔·希勒尔（Daniel Hillel）因为开发出所谓的滴灌（又称微灌溉）技术而获得表彰。滴灌技术使得在缺水或少雨的地方耕作成为可能。

Daniel Hillel’s farm near his home in Israel shows his ideas at work.

希勒尔的农场展示了他在工作上的想法，该农场位于他在以色列的住所的附近。

“Each tree row is fed by these plastic tubes that drip water at the base of the tree.”

“每行树都是由这些位于树根部的塑料管滴水来浇灌。”

Watering plants drop by drop has changed agriculture by reducing the amount of water needed to grow crops.

滴灌通过减少种植作物所需的水量改变了农业。

Jan Hopmans is a hydrologist at the University of California at Davis. He studies water-related issues in society. He says farmers now depend on drip irrigation in many areas, including vineyards in Spain, onion fields in Africa, and even farms in the United States.

Jan Hopmans是加州大学戴维斯分校的水文专家。他研究和水有关的社会问题。他表示，现在农民在很多方面都依赖滴灌技术，包括西班牙的葡萄园，非洲的洋葱田，甚至还有美国的农场。

“We in California grow about fifty percent of the fruits and vegetables of the continental³ United States. And the reason that is possible is because of, indeed, these drip and micro-irrigation techniques.”

“我们在加州种植了美国大陆近50%的水果和蔬菜。而使之成为可能的实际上就是这些滴灌（又称微灌溉）技术。”

The World Food Prize Foundation⁴ says Daniel Hillel was born in California at the beginning of the Great Depression. After his father died, his mother moved the family to Palestine, where her parents lived. The area eventually became part of the state of Israel.

世界粮食奖基金会说，希勒尔于美国大萧条之初出生在加州。父亲去世后，他的母亲举家搬到娘家所住的巴勒斯坦。该地区最终成为以色列的一部分。

Daniel Hillel got his start in dryland farming as a settler in Israel’s Negev Desert in the nineteen fifties.

上世纪50年代，希勒尔作为内盖夫沙漠的移居者开始了他在旱地农业上的工作。

“The issue was efficient use of water. Because land is available. It’s extensive⁵. Water is limited.”

“现在的问题是水的有效利用。因为土地是广阔的，而水是有限的。”

Desert farmers were not able to push water through irrigation canals to their crops, the way farmers have since ancient times. So Mr. Hillel and others gave plants just what they needed, just where they needed it.

沙漠农民无法使用农民自古以来就用的灌溉水渠将水输送给庄稼。因此希勒尔和其他人只在作物所需的地方给作物提供它们所要的。

“The idea was to apply the water little by little, the way you spoon-feed a baby.”

“办法就是一点点地供水，就像用汤匙喂宝宝一样。”

The method worked so well that soon Mr. Hillel was traveling the world, showing others how to do it.

这一办法非常有效，很快希勒尔先生就开始了周游世界指导他人如何做。

Experts say drip irrigation is an idea whose importance is growing, as climate change and rising population stretch water supplies in many parts of the world.

专家称，随着气候变化和世界上许多地方人口增长造成的供水紧张，滴灌的重要性越来越大。

“This is where water use, water availability, water-use efficiency⁶ and climate change and crop production all converge⁷. And this has been really the essence⁸ of my career.”

“水的利用，水分有效性，水利用效率，气候变化和作物生产都融入到一起，而这一直就是我职业生涯的精髓。”

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Contributing: Steve Baragona

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 drip   

n.滴，点滴；水滴；乏味的人；v.滴下，漏水

参考例句：

• I hate this sort of drip.我讨厌这种无聊的闲话。
• A drip of water fell from the tap.从龙头滴下一滴水。

3 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。

4 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

5 extensive   

adj.广泛的，广阔的，广大的

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• The museum offers extensive facilities for study.这个博物馆提供了许多供研究的设备。

6 efficiency   

n.效率，效能，功效

参考例句：

• We were most impressed with your efficiency.你的效率给我们留下很深刻的印象。
• Our goal is to achieve the maximum of efficiency.我们的目标是取得最高的效率。

7 converge   

vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近

参考例句：

• The results converge towards this truth.其结果趋近于这个真理。
• Parallel lines converge at infinity.平行线永不相交。

8 essence   

n.本质，实质，精华，精粹

参考例句：

• We must try to get to the essence of things.我们必须想法抓住事物的本质。
• The two things are the same in outward form but different in essence.这两件东西外表形式一样，但实质不同。