美国国家公共电台 NPR--Weather is to blame for roughly 90% of Georgia's peach crop being destroyed

Weather is to blame for roughly 90% of Georgia's peach crop being destroyed

Transcript¹

Georgia Peaches will be hard to find this summer. Bad weather pretty much wiped out this year's crop.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

In the state of Georgia, summertime means peaches, but roughly 90% of the crop has been destroyed. As Sam Gringlas reports from WABE, weather and climate get the blame.

SAM GRINGLAS, BYLINE²: The last time things were this bad was 1955. That's according to Lawton Pearson of Pearson Farm in Fort Valley, Ga.

LAWTON PEARSON: I didn't see it. I wasn't alive. My dad was only 6. My grandfather picked two peaches, and they went to California for the summer.

GRINGLAS: Peaches require a minimum number of chill hours - below 45 degrees - to set fruit. But the first three months of this year were the warmest on record in Georgia, and chill hours here have been declining over the years. That is climate change. Growers are experimenting with new varieties that need fewer chill hours. Some of those did get the cold they needed, but right when they were blooming - a spurt³ of unlucky freezing weather.

PEARSON: You have a low-chill peach that was perfectly⁴ fine with this winter. So it bloomed, and then it got four nights under 28. Can't win either way.

GRINGLAS: So don't count on sinking your teeth into a peach from the Peach State anytime soon.

PEARSON: Not Georgia Peaches. I don't think you'll see Georgia peaches in a grocery store.

GRINGLAS: Pearson's summer staff will be down to 40 from the typical 250. He can't retreat to California like his grandfather did in '55. The business has diversified⁵, including a growing pecan crop. But Pearson says looking at trees with no peaches is painful.

PEARSON: Oh, God, yeah.

GRINGLAS: One bright spot - the few that do make it benefit from having all the sun, water and nutrients⁶ to themselves.

PEARSON: The peaches you're left with sometimes are fantastic and they're huge and they're sweeter than - like, the peaches we have are awesome⁷ and just leaves you wanting more.

GRINGLAS: Pearson's ready for August, when peach season is over and he can look to next year.

For NPR News, I'm Sam Gringlas in Atlanta.

(SOUNDBITE OF KHRUANGBIN'S "DERN KALA")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 spurt   

v.喷出；突然进发；突然兴隆

参考例句：

• He put in a spurt at the beginning of the eighth lap.他进入第八圈时便开始冲刺。
• After a silence, Molly let her anger spurt out.沉默了一会儿，莫莉的怒气便迸发了出来。

4 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

5 diversified   

adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• The college biology department has diversified by adding new courses in biotechnology. 该学院生物系通过增加生物技术方面的新课程而变得多样化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Take grain as the key link, develop a diversified economy and ensure an all-round development. 以粮为纲，多种经营，全面发展。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.