VOA标准英语2009年-Flood-Resistant Rice Aids Farmers in South Asia

Most rice grows in wet environments, but too much water can be disastrous¹ for rice crops. Plant biologist Pamela Ronald helped create a type of flood-resistant² rice that is being introduced to India and Bangladesh. In Davis, California, we spoke³ with Ronald about her new rice and its promise for small farmers in South Asia.

Most rice plants will die if submerged for just three days, but the new variety can withstand two weeks of flooding. Ronald, a plant pathologist at the University of California, Davis, says it can make a crucial difference in a region where subsistence farmers grow rice to feed their families and four million tons of rice is lost each year to flooding. That is enough to feed 30 million people.
　
Pamela Ronald

Pamela Ronald developed the new rice strain with a colleague at the International Rice Research Institute near Manila, David Mackill, and another scientist at the University of California Riverside, Julia Bailey-Serres.

Ronald says they began with an ancient rice strain from Eastern India that farmers knew could survive long periods under water.

"It was not in use," said Pamela Ronald. "Very, very low yield and very poor flavor, so no one was eating it. It's really more like a grassy⁴ weed, but it had these properties."

She says they worked to identify the genes⁶ for flood resistance and then transfer them to rice with high yield and good flavor.

"And the idea was, if we could identify the genes, then we could transfer just those genes into the varieties preferred by growers in India and Bangladesh," she said. "And so we were hoping to develop a new rice that retained all those traits that were important to those growers, but also had this additional gene⁵."
　
SWARNA-Sub1 flood-resistant rice

Using a technique called precision breeding, they transferred the flood-resistant property to a popular rice known as Swarna. The new variety is called Swarna-Submergence1, or Swarna-Sub1. About 100 farmers took part in field trials in Eastern India and Bangladesh.

Ronald says the results were dramatic, with farmers seeing increases from two to five-fold under conditions of flooding. She met with some of the farmers last year.

"We wanted to hear what kind of difference it made to their families, and a couple of the women told me that they were able to feed their families and they had extra rice to sell, which is really important in those areas to bring in a little cash," said Pamela Ronald.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture conferred a major research award on Ronald and her colleagues in December.

The new rice type is in the final stages of certification in India and Bangladesh, and should be widely available within two years. The new strain is genetically⁸ improved, but not genetically modified, so is not subject to tight controls on genetically modified foods.

Ronald has devoted⁹ her career to rice research and notes that rice is the staple¹⁰ food for half of the world's people. She is now turning her attention to another major problem for rice farmers in Asia and Africa.

"We're trying to understand what makes the plant resistant to disease, and we're also looking at the disease-causing bacterial¹¹ organism that devastates¹² crops in Asia and Africa, and we're trying to understand how the bacteria and the plant communicate," she said.

The scientist hopes to interrupt that process and breed into rice plants a natural resistance to the disease, called bacterial blight¹³ of rice.

Ronald lives and works in the heart of California's Central Valley, which produces half the fruits and vegetables for the United States. Her husband, Raoul Adamchak, is an organic farmer and the couple has written a book called, Tomorrow's Table that argues for a combination of genetic⁷ engineering and organic farming. Ronald says that both can help farmers feed the world in a green and sustainable way.

1 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

2 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

5 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

6 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

7 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

8 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

9 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

10 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

11 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

12 devastates   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的第三人称单数 )；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮

参考例句：

• Strip mining devastates whole regions, leaving bare and useless ground. 露天矿产毁坏全部区域，离开赤裸和无用的地面。 来自互联网
• Prostitution is a profession that devastates the lives of young women. 雏妓这个职业是对女孩子极度的摧残。 来自互联网

13 blight   

n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残

参考例句：

• The apple crop was wiped out by blight.枯萎病使苹果全无收成。
• There is a blight on all his efforts.他的一切努力都遭到挫折。