VOA标准英语2010年-Historic Gloucester Fishing Port Hit b

Overfishing led to regulations that then drained jobs from a Massachusetts town

Ted¹ Landphair | Washington, DC 01 February 2010

 

Recently, we told you about New Bedford, the whaling capital of the world before the discovery of petroleum² made whale oil virtually obsolete³ and sent the Massachusetts city into steep decline.

That was a century ago, but now the pattern has re-emerged up the Massachusetts coast in Gloucester which is America's oldest fishing port.  Its prime catch was not whales.  It was cod⁴, haddock, and flounder. These are all types of groundfish that swim atop the giant Georges Bank sandbar far out in the Atlantic Ocean. 

The Fisherman's Memorial, dedicated⁵ to Gloucester's sailors lost at sea in 1925, is also used as the advertising⁶ model for products of the Gorton's of Gloucester fish packing company

Thirty years ago, more than 500 boats brought their catches into Gloucester each afternoon.  The number is one-third of that now. 

The decline is due in part to overfishing, which led to a blizzard⁷ of regulations intended to save whitefish like cod and yellowtail flounder from virtual extinction⁸.  The Gloucester fleet must now live with restricted fishing grounds and rules requiring nets with a larger mesh⁹ that allow small fish to escape to spawn¹⁰ another day. 

A Gloucester fisherman dries and repairs his net

Unemployment in Gloucester runs right about the national average of 10 percent but is much higher on the docks.  Dozens of repair shops, fish cleaning and fish packing plants have simply gone out of business.

New Englanders still savor¹¹ their cod cakes, baked haddock and fried flounder, but a majority of these fish are now caught by Canadians or Norwegians.  Gloucester's fishing crew, which is aging without much prospect¹² of attracting younger recruits, is mostly reduced to catching¹³ species considered unappetizing here at home.  Dogfish, for instance, go to Britain for fish and chips.  Massachusetts squid are a delicacy¹⁴ in Asia.  And Koreans not only love Gloucester eels¹⁵; they also skin them to make wallets.

Read more of Ted's personal reflections and stories from the road on his blog, Ted Landphair's America.

 

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

3 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

4 cod   

n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗

参考例句：

• They salt down cod for winter use.他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
• Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。

5 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

6 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

7 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

8 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

9 mesh   

n.网孔，网丝，陷阱；vt.以网捕捉，啮合，匹配；vi.适合； [计算机]网络

参考例句：

• Their characters just don't mesh.他们的性格就是合不来。
• This is the net having half inch mesh.这是有半英寸网眼的网。

10 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

11 savor   

vt.品尝，欣赏；n.味道，风味；情趣，趣味

参考例句：

• The soup has a savor of onion.这汤有洋葱味。
• His humorous remarks added a savor to our conversation.他幽默的话语给谈话增添了风趣。

12 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

13 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

14 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

15 eels   

abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system）

参考例句：

• Eels have been on the feed in the Lower Thames. 鳗鱼在泰晤士河下游寻食。
• She bought some eels for dinner. 她买回一些鳗鱼做晚餐。