VOA标准英语2008年-Boned US Beef Makes First Arrival in South Kore

The first cuts of US beef with bones have arrived in South Korea since they were banned nearly five years ago. As VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul, massive street protests over US beef have calmed, but anger over an import resumption deal remains¹.

South Korean quarantine inspectors² began the process Tuesday of admitting beef ribs³ from the United States for sale in the country's markets. The beef arrived earlier by airplane, ending a total absence of bone-in US beef in South Korea that lasted nearly five years.

South Korea used to be the world's third leading importer of US beef. However, it banned US beef altogether in late 2003, after a single US animal was discovered to have "mad cow disease," a fatal condition which decays the brain. Doctors say it is possible, but unlikely, to contract a human form of the disease by eating meat from infected animals.

US authorities have always maintained US beef is safe. There has never been a proven case of US beef infecting consumers with brain disease. South Korea agreed to a limited resumption of boneless beef last year, then re-imposed the ban after some shipments were found to contain bone fragments.

A public uproar⁴ followed South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's April deal with President Bush to resume nearly all beef imports. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets for weeks of nightly demonstrations⁵ that occasionally turned into violent clashes. Protesters accused Mr. Lee of treating public health too casually⁶, but the beef issue served as a hub for a host of other political complaints against his administration.

The protests have ebbed⁷ due to a firmer approach by police, and moves by South Korea and the United States to amend⁸ the deal. Tuesday's beef shipment was plastered with stickers certifying⁹ the meat was derived¹⁰ from cattle younger than two and a half years old-- widely seen as having a lower risk of mad cow disease.

Park Chang-kyu runs a beef store here in Seoul, and started selling warehoused U.S. beef last month. He says sales figures belie¹¹ many of the protesters' complaints. He says around July first, South Koreans nationwide started buying about 400 kilograms of beef a day. Now, they are up to buying three ton a day. He says he has been getting up to forty telephone calls a day requesting so-called "LA Kalbi," or U.S. beef with bones.

Park says at first, he got lots of protest calls - including threats to blow up his store. Nowadays, those have eased off.

A portion of Tuesday's US beef shipment may be ready for store shelves in as few as three days. Inspectors say they may spend up to 18 days examining certain cuts about which consumers have expressed the most concern.

 

 

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

4 uproar   

n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸

参考例句：

• She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
• His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。

5 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

6 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

7 ebbed   

（指潮水）退( ebb的过去式和过去分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• But the pain had ebbed away and the trembling had stopped. 不过这次痛已减退，寒战也停止了。
• But gradually his interest in good causes ebbed away. 不过后来他对这类事业兴趣也逐渐淡薄了。

8 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

9 certifying   

（尤指书面）证明( certify的现在分词 )； 发证书给…； 证明（某人）患有精神病； 颁发（或授予）专业合格证书

参考例句：

• Signed Commercial in quintuplicate, certifying merchandise to be of Chinese origin. 签署商业发票一式五份，证明产品的原产地为中国。
• Other documents certifying the truthfulness of the contents of the advertisements. （三）确认广告内容真实性的其他证明文件。

10 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 belie   

v.掩饰，证明为假

参考例句：

• The gentle lower slopes belie the true nature of the mountain.低缓的山坡掩盖了这座山的真实特点。
• His clothes belie his station.他的衣服掩饰了他的身分。