农业报道 - 使用手机视频在非洲传播农业知识
This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
Mobile phones are an important business tool for farmers in rural areas. But they also put a valuable educational tool in their hands.
在农村地区，手机是农民一个非常重要的商务工具，也是农民手中一个非常有价值的教育工具。
The University of Illinois in the United States has a project called SAWBO -- Scientific Animations Without Borders. It produces educational videos that can be downloaded to cell phones. The goal is to help people in developing countries improve their lives.
美国伊利诺伊大学有一个名为SWABO，即科学动画无国界的项目。该项目制作能够下载到手机的教育视频，目的是帮助发展中国家人民提高生活水平。
One video shows farmers how to make a natural insecticide from neem seeds to prevent insect damage to crops. The process starts with sorting and drying the neem fruits, as explained in this version with a Nigerian narrator.
其中一个视频向农民展示如何使用印楝种子制作天然杀虫剂，来防止害虫损害农作物。制作过程中，首先对印楝种子进行分类并干燥，就像这位尼日利亚解说员在视频中说的。
WOMAN: "Let the fruit dry in the sun for about three or four days, until they become brown. Using a mortar and pestle, the fruits are slightly pounded to remove the shells from the fruits without breaking the seed inside."
尼日利亚女解说：“将果实置于阳光下晒三到四天，直到它们变成棕色。使用杵和臼轻轻敲击果实，使外壳剥离而又不损伤到里面的种子。”
The videos use computer animation. Some of the animated characters are a little funny looking -- like a farmer with a long nose. But the subjects are serious, including a health video on preventing cholera.
视频使用电脑动画制成。有些动画角色看上去有些滑稽，例如有一个长鼻子农民。但是动画主题是非常严肃的，包括一个预防霍乱的健康视频。
Farmers receive information on improving crop yields by watching how-to videos on their mobile phones.
Team member Francisco Seufferheld says the information in the videos is meant to be quickly understood.
项目小组成员Francisco Seufferheld表示，视频中的信息能被快速领会。
FRANCISCO SEUFFERHELD: "The information is digested in such a way that in two minutes, we can transmit a complex idea."
FRANCISCO SEUFFERHELD：“信息通过这样一种方式整理后，人们就能在两分钟内领会我们传递出的复杂观点。”
The team has made a few videos so far. These are available in a total of eighty languages, dialects and accents. Professor Barry Pittendrigh says there are plans for more videos later this year.
这个团队目前已经制作了一些视频，一共包含80种语言和方言。Barry Pittendrigh教授表示，计划今年晚些时候还会制作更多视频。
Purdue University in Indiana is using videos to promote a project in Africa called PICS, Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage. The aim is to get farmers to use special bags to keep air and bugs out of their cowpea harvests.
印第安纳州普渡大学使用视频在非洲推广一个名为PICS，即普渡大学改进豌豆储藏的项目。其目的是让农民使用特制的袋子，使收获的豌豆与空气和虫子隔离。
The Purdue researchers have produced their videos in different countries in Africa. Crop scientist Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer says this helps local farmers relate to them.
普渡大学的研究人员在非洲一些不同国家制作了视频。农科学家Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer表示，这能帮助当地相关的农民。
The researchers did an experiment in Niger with a video showing how to close the bags. Professor Lowenberg-DeBoer says the process is not difficult to do, just difficult to describe.
研究人员在尼日尔使用一个视频进行了一项试验，展示如何封闭这些袋子。Lowenberg-DeBoer教授表示，这个过程做起来并不难，但却很难描述出来。
JESS LOWENBERG-DeBOER: "Closing the bags is something that, if you see it, you will understand it very quickly. And most people do. But explaining it in words is quite difficult."
JESS LOWENBERG-DeBOER：“如果你看了封闭袋子的过程，你很快就能理解。大部分人都能很快理解。但用语言表述出来却非常困难。”
The researchers tested the seven-minute video on seven mobile phones. They wanted to see if people would share the video using Bluetooth wireless technology. With Bluetooth, files can be passed to a nearby phone even if neither phone is connected to the Internet.
研究人员在7部手机上测试了这个7分钟时长的视频（的传播）。他们想看看，人们是否会使用蓝牙无线技术分享这个视频。即使手机未能接入互联网，也能使用蓝牙将文件发送到附近的手机上。
JESS LOWENBERG DeBOER: "In one month, the video had spread to one hundred eighteen people in fifty different villages. And we think that this is just incredible impact."
JESS LOWENBERG DeBOER：“一个月之内，该视频被传播到了50个不同村庄的118人。我们认为这是非常难以置信的影响力。”
And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson and Steve Baragona. You can watch examples of the videos at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Bob Doughty. |