新奇事件簿 土豆歉收 炸薯条大小受影响（在线收听）

A poor potato harvest in Europe this summer could mean French fries are up to three centimeters shorter than usual. The poor harvest is because of the very hot summer Europe had. There were record hot temperatures in many countries. The heatwave caused a lack of rain, which meant farmers produced a lot fewer potatoes than they normally do. Pierre Lebrun, a spokesman from a potato growers' association in Belgium, said farmers grew 25 per cent fewer potatoes than normal. The effect of this is that potato prices are up and the average size of potatoes is smaller. Mr Lebrun said: "Because the potatoes are smaller at the moment, we will all be eating smaller chips."

今夏欧洲土豆歉收，这意味着炸薯条会比平常薯条短3厘米之多。土豆歉收是因为今年欧洲夏季非常炎热。很多国家都经历了有史以来最热的夏季。热浪导致雨水缺乏，意味着农民土豆产量比正常情况下少了很多。比利时土豆种植者协会发言人皮埃尔·莱布伦表示农民们种植土豆数量比正常情况下少了25%。结果土豆价格上升，土豆个头也更小。莱布伦表示：“因为现在土豆个头小了，我们吃的土豆条也会更小。”

Belgium is one country where the potato shortage is a big talking point. Fries are the national dish in Belgium. The country has over 5,000 eateries specializing in fries. Belgians love their fries so much that there is a campaign to rename them "Belgian fries" instead of "French fries" because Belgians say the fry was invented in their country. Belgium is one of the largest exporters of frozen fries in the world. It exports around 2.3 million tons of them every year. Mr Lebron explained why fries would be shorter. He said: "Generally, to have long fries, we work with potatoes with a diameter of more than 50mm. Then you get fries of 8 to 9 cm. This time, as the potatoes are smaller, the fries will be shorter."

在比利时，土豆短缺是讨论的焦点。薯条是比利时的国菜。该国有五千多家小餐厅专卖薯条。比利时人非常喜欢他们的薯条，因此还兴起了将‘法式炸薯条’更名为‘比利时炸薯条’的活动因为比利时人说薯条是在比利时发明的。比利时是世界上最大的冷冻薯条出口国之一。每年出口约230万吨薯条。莱布伦解释了薯条变得更短的原因。他说：“一般情况下，为了保证薯条长度，我们选用直径超过50毫米的土豆。然后削出8到9厘米的薯条。现在，由于土豆个头更小，薯条也将更短。”