VOA慢速英语 2009 0113a

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
　

Farmers with their camels near Jammu, India, last year

India had more than one million camels during the middle of the nineteen nineties. But the population of the animals known for their ability to travel far without much water has fallen sharply¹. A group in Rajasthan state says India had only six hundred thousand camels by two thousand five. Rajasthan has traditionally been the area of the country with the most camels.

Experts say there are different reasons for the decrease. India's camels have lost the use of some traditional grasslands² and forests because of development and climate change. Courts have barred camels from grazing³ in national parks. This makes it harder for their owners to feed them.

But animal doctor Pradeep Singhal blames the decrease in camels mainly on the influence of the outside world. The veterinarian says trucks and other modern vehicles are taking the place of camels.

Camels have served as an important form of transportation since ancient times. They are known as "ships of the desert." They carry goods and people, and they provide products including milk, skin, hair and bone. Some Indians eat camel meat. And farmers can use camel waste to fertilize⁴ their crops.

But fewer camels than in the past were traded at a recent camel fair in Pushkar, in Rajasthan. A strong camel can cost about one thousand dollars. A group called the League of Pastoral Peoples says fifty thousand camels were brought to the fair in two thousand four. This year, there were seventeen thousand five hundred camels, horses and other animals at the event.

Still, visitors could watch camel races and a contest to choose the most beautiful camel. The animals are washed and decorated with bells and jewelry⁵.

Doctor Singhal works⁶ with a volunteer organization based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that helps people take care of their camels. The group is called Help in Suffering. This charitable trust works for the benefit of the animals of India. The group operates animal shelters. And it has been developing a specialized⁷ camel rescue center, which it describes as the first of its kind in India.

A camel weighs as much as eight hundred kilograms. Ten to fifteen people are needed to lift a sick or injured camel onto a truck. But the group has a new ambulance with devices⁸ for lifting a camel to drive it to an animal hospital.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Archives of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Bob Doughty⁹.

1 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

2 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 grazing   

n. 放牧, 牧草 动词graze的现在分词

参考例句：

• There were cows grazing beside the river. 有些牛在河边吃草。
• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。

4 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

5 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

6 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。

7 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

8 devices   

n.设备；装置( device的名词复数 )；花招；（为实现某种目的的）计划；手段

参考例句：

• electrical labour-saving devices around the home 节省劳力的各种家用电器
• modern labour-saving devices such as washing machines and dishwashers 诸如洗衣机和洗碗机之类的现代化省力设备

9 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。