VOA慢速英语20060822a

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Experts Say Water Shortages Affect One-Third of World PopulationBy Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Tuesday, August 22, 2006

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.


Water is scarcer and scarcer in Guinea

A new report says one-third of all people in the world face some form of water shortage. Experts had warned this would happen -- but not until two thousand twenty-five.

Sometimes the shortages are caused by too much water use. Groundwater levels fall; rivers get drier and drier. Other times the water is there, but communities do not have the resources to get enough.

The report is called the Comprehensive Assessment¹ of Water Management in Agriculture. It was released Monday at World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden.

The report examines fifty years of policies and practices in water use and development in agriculture. Seven hundred experts around the world gathered the information over the past five years.

Farming uses a lot of water, but it may be surprising just how much. Seventy-four percent of all freshwater used goes to agriculture. Industry uses eighteen percent. Communities use only eight percent.

Where the water is stored may also be surprising. Sixty-five percent of all freshwater is held in soil, the result of rain. Thirty-five percent is in rivers and lakes and in aquifers² deep underground.

The researchers call for more productive use of rainwater. Seventy percent of all cropland depends on rain. Capturing rainwater and using plowing³ methods that save water are two ways to make better use of each liter of rain that falls.

The report identifies areas where better use of water could do the most good. These include poor areas. Investments in water resources could help at least eight hundred million people who depend on farming but have limited water supplies.

The report says areas where competition for water is high -- like Egypt, Pakistan and China -- also need more productive methods of water use.

Irrigation projects in undeveloped areas can change local economies. And, finally, developed areas where water resources have been overused need new plans to limit decreasing supplies.

The report says better use of water through irrigation has helped to increase grain productivity and economic growth. But world demand for food is expected to almost double by two thousand fifty as the population grows. That means farmers will need to do even more to use water productively.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. You can read and hear our reports online at www.unsv.com. I'm Mario Ritter.

1 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

2 aquifers   

n.地下蓄水层，砂石含水层( aquifer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• And in Africa, the aquifers barely recharge at all. 非洲的地下水开采以后几乎得不到补充。 来自时文部分
• Aquifers have water contents over 30%. 含水层的水含过30％。 来自辞典例句

3 plowing   

v.耕( plow的现在分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• "There are things more important now than plowing, Sugar. "如今有比耕种更重要的事情要做呀，宝贝儿。 来自飘（部分）
• Since his wife's death, he has been plowing a lonely furrow. 从他妻子死后，他一直过着孤独的生活。 来自辞典例句