津巴布韦大量农田毁于大火

 

 

Fire Destroys Larges Areas of Zimbabwe Farmland

Martin Rushmere

Harare

30 Aug 2001 

 

Large areas of commercial 1)farmland in Zimbabwe have reportedly been destroyed by fire. There are allegations that the fires have been started 2)deliberately¹ by land 3)invaders² to force white farm owners to leave.

Commercial farmers say about 10 percent of their useable land has been 4)burned out, further increasing the possibility of a food crisis in the country.

Analysts³ say Zimbabwe will have to import at least 400,000 tons of grain this year.

According to the mainly-white Commercial Farmers Union, most of the fires are deliberate attempts by land invaders and squatters to 5)intimidate farm owners and force them to leave their properties.

In the last 19 months, more than 2,000 farms have been affected⁴ and the government and police have ignored court orders that the invasions are 6)illegal.

Opposition⁵ parties and the Commercial Farmers Union 7)accuse the government of President Robert Mugabe of encouraging the invasions.

One of the farming areas worst hit by the fires is Hwedza, 80 kilometers southeast of Harare, the capital. An estimated one-third of the useable land in Hwedza is said to have been burned out. The area has been wracked by violence for the past three weeks, with 15 farm owners and 3,000 workers forced to flee by pro-government militants⁶.

Farmers in the area say the militants have deliberately started the fires to stop all operations.

Agronomists⁷ say the problem throughout Zimbabwe has been worsened by the fact that some farm invaders are following a traditional 8)custom in Africa of clearing fields by burning before the planting season, and that the fires have gotten out of control.

The smoke produced by the fires has become so serious that the Zimbabwe Automobile⁸ Association is warning motorists on main roads to take extra care because 9)visibility is down to a few meters in some places. A bus crash on Wednesday, in which three people were killed and 15 hurt, is thought to have been partly due to the driver being 10)blinded by smoke.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe government has admitted that an 11)outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease a week ago could have been due to cattle control fences being cut down by farm invaders.

The government veterinary department says the most likely source of the 12)infection is in southeastern Zimbabwe, where fences have been destroyed, allowing wild animals, which carry the 13)virus, to mix with cattle.

When the disease first struck, Zimbabwe Agriculture Minister Joseph Made denied there was any link with the farm invasions.

 

 

(1)      farmland[`fB:mlAnd]n.农田

(2)      deliberately[dI5lIbErEtlI]adv.故意地

(3)      invader[In`veIdE(r)]n.侵略者

(4)      burn out v.烧坏, 烧掉, 烧尽

(5)      intimidate[In5tImIdeIt]v.胁迫

(6)      illegal[I5li:^(E)l]adj.违法的, 不合规定的

(7)      accuse[E5kju:z]vt.控告, 谴责, 非难

(8)      custom[5kQstEm]n.习惯, 风俗, <动词单用>海关

(9)      visibility[vIzI5bIlItI]n.可见度, 可见性, 显著,能见度

(10)      blind[blaInd]adj.瞎的, 盲目的vt.使失明, 缺乏眼光或判断力

(11)      outbreak[5aJtbreIk]n.(战争的)爆发, (疾病的)发作

(12)      infection[In5fekF(E)n]n.[医] 传染, 传染病, 影响, 感染

(13)      virus[5vaIErEs]n.[微]病毒, 滤过性微生物

 

 

1 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

2 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 agronomists   

n.农（艺）学家( agronomist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Agronomists are concerned with the production of crops for food, feed, and fibre. 农学工作者应学习食物、饲料和纤维作物的生产。 来自辞典例句
• Agronomists and farmers use the pictures to study crops. 农学家和农民利用图片来研究庄稼。 来自互联网

8 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。