英语听力—环球英语 596 The Miracle Fruit

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Ruby² Jones
Voice 2
And I’m Mike Proctor. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
‘These are very good. I could eat these all day.’
Voice 1
Have you ever eaten a lemon? This small yellow fruit can be unpleasant³ to eat. It is not sweet. In fact it is the opposite – it is bitter⁴. So why are these people enjoying them so much?
Voice 4
‘It is like eating something from another universe, where lemons are as easy to eat as oranges – and just as nice.’
Voice 5
‘This lemon tastes great! I could eat a whole lemon. I think this would be a great trick to show people.’
Voice 2
These people are eating lemons, but they taste sweet, not how lemons usually taste. So why are these people enjoying them so much?
Voice 1
Well, the people are from an American news website – the AV Club. They are doing a taste test on a new product. Before they eat the lemons, they put a Miracle⁵ Berry⁶ in their mouth. A Miracle Berry is a very small red fruit. It grows in West Africa. It makes foods that are bitter taste sweet. When you eat the berry it releases⁷ juice. This liquid then covers the parts of your mouth that sense taste – the taste buds⁸. Then, when you eat something bitter or sour, it tastes sweet.
Voice 2
People in many parts of the world can now buy these Miracle Berries⁹. A few companies are beginning to sell them. Some people think that the miracle chemical in the berry could replace sugar in many foods.
Voice 1
In America, one of the first people to discover the Miracle Berry was Robert Harvey. Harvey is a scientist. In the 1960’s, he started working with the fruit. He wanted to find out how it made things taste sweet. His research seemed to be going well. He had discovered a way of using the miracle chemical to make food taste better. He asked children to test it. They said his foods tasted even better than food with sugar in.
Voice 2
It seemed like Robert Harvey was going to make millions of dollars. Some people thought that he could compete with the sugar companies and win. But then there was trouble.
Harvey received a letter from the Food and Drugs Administration¹⁰, or FDA. This organisation¹¹ is in charge of safety of food and medicines sold in the United¹² States. The FDA told Harvey they would not let him sell his miracle berry chemical. They said more tests were needed to see if it was safe.
Voice 1
Also, there have been reports of people breaking into Harvey’s laboratory¹³ to steal secret information. Was someone trying to stop him selling his miracle chemical? Harvey never discovered the truth. And he was shocked by the FDA’s ban. The safety tests that they demanded would take years and cost a lot of money. But he did not have enough money for that. He was forced to close his business. His Miracle Berry project was finished. So, many years passed without the rest of the world knowing about this miracle from West Africa.
Voice 2
However people in parts of West Africa have known¹⁴ about the Miracle Berry for a very long time. They have been using it to sweeten their food for hundreds of years. Now, 40 years after Robert Harvey, more scientists and businessmen are discovering this amazing fruit.
Voice 1
The Miracle Berry is not the only unusual fruit that could soon be sold around the world. Organisations and businesses are looking for other unusual plants and fruits around the world. They hope to make money for the companies and the countries that grow the crops.
Voice 2
Another fruit that is new to much of the world is the baobab. This grows in many parts of Africa on large trees. It contains lots of vitamin¹⁵ C and calcium¹⁶. So it is a good, healthy food. In July 2008 the European Union announced that the baobab fruit could be sold in Europe. This should mean more money for countries where the fruit grows, such as Zambia and Botswana.
Voice 1
The organisation that is helping¹⁷ sell the baobab fruit in Europe is called Phytotrade Africa. Phytotrade Africa is always looking for new crops in Africa that they could help sell. They hope that this will help the developing¹⁸ countries where these crops grow. Cyril Lombard works¹⁹ for Phytotrade Africa. He said.
Voice 3
‘Being able to sell the baobab in Europe is great news for Africa. Opening up the European market to this product will change the lives of poor communities there.’
Voice 2
A group from the United Kingdom has studied what effect selling the baobab fruit could have. The Natural Resources²⁰ Institute says that the wild Baobab needs to be carefully harvested. Then it could make a lot of money for the people who grow it. African farmers could sell up to one thousand million [1,000,000,000] dollars’ worth of the crop every year.
Voice 1
It is no surprise then that Phytotrade Africa is not the only group looking for unusual crops. There are also other organisations and businesses looking around the world for new and interesting crops. The International Centre for Underutilised Crops, or ICUC, is one of these organisations. It describes underutilised crops as:
Voice 4
‘... Plants that research scientists and other development workers have not made use of. They are traditionally²¹ used for food, material, oil or medicine. They are often very important for poor people living away from the cities. The underutilised crops often provide food, raise money and add to the communities’ culture. People living in these rural²² areas could earn more money from them.’
Voice 2
The ICUC works with local people to help grow and sell these underutilised crops. They have also helped launch²³ a project called ‘Crops for the Future’. The project workers say that it is risky²⁴ for the world to depend on so few kinds of crops. If one crop fails then this could create huge problems. They say to solve this people should be growing different kinds of underutilised crops. They also say that as the world’s population increases, underutilised crops could be even more important.
Voice 1
Feeding the world could become more and more difficult in the future. Making use of underutilised crops may be one answer to keeping us alive and well. So who knows, the next miracle fruit may just by growing on a plant that no one has noticed yet.
Voice 2
The writer and producer of today’s programme was Steve Myersco. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotations²⁵ were adapted and voiced by Spotlight.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 unpleasant   

adj.使人不愉快的，使人厌恶的，煞风景的

参考例句：

• A very unpleasant thing has happened.一件令人很不愉快的事发生了。
• The kind advices are often unpleasant to the ear.好言常常不入耳。

4 bitter   

adj.激烈的，苦涩的，辛酸的，厉害的，悲痛的；n.辛酸，苦味，苦酒

参考例句：

• The bitter winter was coming.寒冬到了。
• The two countries fell out in a bitter wrangle over imports.这两个国家在有关进口问题的激烈争吵中闹翻了。

5 miracle   

n.奇迹，令人惊奇的人或事

参考例句：

• The doctors said that his recovery was a miracle. 医生们说他的复原是件奇事。
• It is simply a miracle that rice should grow in such a place.稻子竟能在这样的地方生长，这实在是个奇迹。

6 berry   

n.浆果(如草莓等)

参考例句：

• This kind of jam is made of berry.这种果酱是由浆果做的。
• Every berry and cherry carried in the ferry is very merry.渡船里载运的每一颗草莓和樱桃都很快乐。

7 releases   

v.释放( release的第三人称单数 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• Nuclear fission releases tremendous amounts of energy. 核裂变释放出巨大的能量。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Zemel says that when calcium levels are low, the body releases a hormone that helps squeeze the most out of every available milligram of the mineral. 泽莫尔博士说，当人体中的钙含量偏低时，身体里就会产生一种荷尔蒙，它能帮助肌体最大限度地吸收所摄入的钙。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 buds   

芽( bud的名词复数 )； 苞； 半开的花； 未长大的叶

参考例句：

• the first buds appearing in spring 春天的初芽
• Willow trees breaking out into buds foretell the coming of spring. 柳枝绽青报春来。

9 berries   

n.浆果( berry的名词复数 )；（葡萄，番茄等）浆果；干果仁；干种子

参考例句：

• Birds feed on nuts and berries in the winter. 鸟类靠坚果和浆果过冬。
• We went here and there looking for berries. 我们四处寻找浆果。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 administration   

n.经营，管理；行政，行政机关，管理部门

参考例句：

• Who is in charge of the administration of your company?你们公司的行政工作由谁负责？
• The teachers are responsible to the school administration.教师向学校行政负责。

11 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

12 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

13 laboratory   

n.实验室，化验室

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a laboratory.她捐款成立了一个实验室。
• Our laboratory equipment isn't perfect,but we must make do.实验室设备是不够理想，但我们只好因陋就简。

14 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

15 vitamin   

n.维他命，维生素

参考例句：

• Oranges are rich in vitamin C.橙子富含维生素C。
• Vitamin pills make up what you lack in your diet.维生素丸可补充你食物中所缺乏的营养。

16 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 developing   

adj.发展中的

参考例句：

• Transport has always been the key to developing trade.运输一直是发展贸易的关键。
• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。

19 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

20 resources   

n.勇气；才智；谋略；有助于实现目标的东西；资源( resource的名词复数 )；[复数]物力；办法；来源

参考例句：

• The world's resources are rapidly diminishing. 世界资源正在迅速减少。
• a policy to equalize the distribution of resources throughout the country 使资源在全国分布均衡的政策

21 traditionally   

adv.传说地；传统地

参考例句：

• Traditionally,people clean the house before the Spring Festival.传统上，人们在春节前打扫房子。
• Medicine is traditionally the first of the Nobel prizes awarded each year.根据传统，医学奖是诺贝尔奖每年颁发的第一个奖项。

22 rural   

adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的

参考例句：

• He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
• We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。

23 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

24 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

25 quotations   

n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价

参考例句：

• The insurance company requires three quotations for repairs to the car. 保险公司要修理这辆汽车的三家修理厂的报价单。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These quotations cannot readily be traced to their sources. 这些引语很难查出出自何处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》