VOA常速英语2019--蜂蜜价格因蜜蜂死亡而飙升

Honey Prices Soar as Bees Die

Harsh chemicals meant to boost agricultural output while endangering the honeybee. Our bees are decimated due to these products that farmers spread on tomatoes and coffee plantations¹. Beekeepers say pesticides² farmers use drive away or kill their honeybees dealing³ a stinging blow to their livelihoods⁴. Sometimes I open our hives to check when I can harvest and I find only a few bees alive, others are dead, other hives are empty. Fewer bees means a shortage of honey. We lost so many customers because honey prices have increased so much. Gilbert Kanez manages ABDC Limited, one of the Rwanda’s biggest honey producers, the company exports natural honey to Europe. Few people can afford our products and the honey is becoming only for the rich. It wasn’t always like this. We are losing our customer.At the heart of it all, local farmers like Angelique Bamurange sprang their crops to keep pests at bay.You see that when we spread pesticides, bees immediately have problems and escape. All the bees flee. I think this product we use to kill insects is dangerous for bees. Bamurange says sometimes the bees come back in a week. But that’s little comfort the beekeepers like Jean Sibomana. I asked the government to stop selling these products that kill bees, ban them, make something else, or else the next generation will only see bees in books. For its part, the Rwandan government says it plans to shift from synthetic⁵ to biodegradable pesticides to halt the bee die-off. A 2016 United Nations report estimates 16 percent of pollinators are threatened with extinction⁶.

刺激性化学物质旨在提高农业产量，但与此同时也危及到了蜜蜂。由于农民在西红柿和咖啡种植园里撒的这些产品，我们养的蜜蜂大量死亡。养蜂人说，农民使用杀虫剂赶走或杀死他们养的蜜蜂，这对他们的生计造成了沉重的打击。有时我打开蜂箱检查我什么时候可以收获蜂蜜，但却发现只有几只蜜蜂还活着，其它的都死了，要么蜂箱就是空的。蜜蜂的减少意味着蜂蜜的短缺。我们失去了很多客户，因为蜂蜜的价格上涨了很多。吉尔伯特·卡奈兹经营ABDC有限公司，这是卢旺达最大的蜂蜜生产商之一，该公司向欧洲出口天然蜂蜜。很少有人能买得起我们的产品，蜂蜜也变成了富人才能享用的食品。事情并不总是这样的。我们的客户正在流失。最重要的是，像安吉丽克·巴穆兰热这样的当地农民种植农作物是为了防止害虫，而这种状况让他们不知所措。你看，当我们散播杀虫剂时，蜜蜂马上就会有反应，它们会飞走。所有的蜜蜂都飞走了。我认为我们用来杀死昆虫的产品对蜜蜂来说很危险。巴穆兰热说有时蜜蜂会在一周之内飞回来。但这并不能安慰像让·西博玛纳这样的养蜂人。我要求政府停止销售这些杀死蜜蜂的产品，禁止这些产品，可以试着去生产一些其它东西，否则下一代人将只能在书中看到蜜蜂了。卢旺达政府表示，计划将人造杀虫剂转变为生物降解杀虫剂，以阻止蜜蜂死亡。2016年联合国的一份报告估计，百分之十六的传粉昆虫面临灭绝危机。

1 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

2 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

5 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

6 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。