VOA慢速英语2011--A Cool Way to Keep Food From Spoiling

Technology Report - A Cool Way to Keep Food From Spoiling

 

科技报道 - “罐中罐”食物保鲜系统

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。

A few degrees can make a big difference when it comes to food storage. Foods can go bad if they get too warm. But for many of the world's poor, finding a good way to keep food cool is difficult. Refrigerators are costly¹ and they need electricity.

食物储存时，（温度的）几度之差会产生巨大差异，如果太热食物就会变质。但对世界上很多穷人来说，找到一个冷藏食物的好办法很难。冰箱价格昂贵，而且还需要电。

Yet spoiled food not only creates health risks but also economic losses. Farmers lose money when they have to throw away products that they cannot sell quickly.

然而变质食物不仅会造成健康隐患，也会导致经济损失。当农民必须扔掉无法快速售出的产品时，他们就会赔钱。

But in nineteen ninety-five a teacher in northern Nigeria named Mohammed Bah Abba found a solution. He developed the "Pot-in-Pot Preservation/Cooling System." It uses two round containers made of clay. A smaller pot is placed inside a larger one.

但在1995年，尼日利亚北部一位名为默罕默德·巴·阿巴（Mohammed Bah Abba）的教师找到了一个解决办法。他发明了“罐中罐储藏/冷却系统。”该系统使用两个粘土制成的圆罐，把小罐子放到大罐子里面。

The space between the two pots is filled with wet sand. The inner pot can be filled with fruit, vegetables or drinks. A wet cloth covers the whole cooling system.

两个罐之间的空隙用潮湿的沙子填满。内罐可以装水果、蔬菜或饮料。然后用一块湿布覆盖整个冷却系统。

Food stored in the smaller pot is kept from spoiling through a simple evaporation² process. Water in the sand between the two pots evaporates through the surface of the larger pot, where drier outside air is moving.

通过简单的蒸发过程，小罐中储存的食物不会变质。两罐之间的沙子中的水分通过大罐的表面蒸发，使大罐外部的干燥空气开始流动。

The evaporation process creates a drop in temperature of several degrees. This cools the inner pot and helps keep food safe from harmful bacteria. Some foods can be kept fresh this way for several weeks.

这一蒸发过程可以让温度降低几度。这就使内罐冷却，帮助内罐中的食物免受有害细菌的威胁。用这种办法，有些食物可以保鲜几个星期。

Mohammed Bah Abba's pot-in-pot cooling system

People throughout Nigeria began using the invention. And it became popular with farmers in other African countries. Mohammed Bah Abba personally financed the first five thousand pot-in-pot systems for his own community and five villages nearby.

尼日利亚全国人民开始使用这一发明，而且它在非洲其它国家的农民中也开始流行。巴·阿巴个人出资为自己社区和附近5个村庄提供了首批5000个罐中罐系统。

In two thousand, the Rolex Watch Company of Switzerland honored him with the Rolex Award for Enterprise. This award recognizes people trying to develop projects aimed at improving human knowledge and well-being³.

2000年，瑞士劳力士钟表公司授予他劳力士雄才伟略大奖（the Rolex Award for Enterprise）。该奖项表彰那些为提高人类知识水平、改善人类生活而努力开发项目的人们。

A committee considers projects in science and medicine, technology, exploration and discovery, the environment and cultural history. Winners receive financial assistance to help develop and extend their projects.

委员会认可的项目包括自然科学和医药、应用技术、自然探索和发现、环境和文化历史。获胜者将获得财政援助，以帮助他们开发和扩大他们项目。

The awards are given every two years. The next awards will be presented in late two thousand twelve. Last year, Rolex launched the Young Laureates Program for the younger generation.

该奖项每两年颁发一次。下一次颁奖将于2012年底举行。去年，劳力士为年轻一代推出了青年雄才计划。

And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by Jill Moss⁴. Transcripts⁵, MP3s and podcasts of our reports are at voanews.cn. We're also on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember.

1 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

2 evaporation   

n.蒸发，消失

参考例句：

• Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
• Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗，由此可以蒸发散热。

3 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

4 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

5 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句