VOA标准英语2011--Fukushima Farmers Worry About Region's B

Fukushima Farmers Worry About Region's Brand

With the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant set to continue through most of this year, many people in the region are worried about the long-term impact on the Fukushima brand. Nowhere can this be felt more than in the prefecture's agricultural industry, but farmers are fighting back.
On a weekday afternoon in central Tokyo a politician is on the microphone appealing to the public. But, she is not asking for votes.
Emi Kaneko, a member of the ruling Democratic Party from Fukushima, is asking people to trust in her prefecture's farmers and their vegetables.
Damage control
Ever since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant began throwing radioactive particles into the surrounding environment, produce from the prefecture's farmers has disappeared from store shelves and some countries have banned imports of it.
Sadayasu Ab, an official in Minimisoma, a village that sits 25 kilometers from the plant, says this constitutes a fourth disaster for the region.
Abe says they have been hit by an earthquake, tsunami¹, nuclear accident and now rumors² and worry about agricultural products. He has heard some people saying they do not want to buy food with the Fukushima name.
The Japanese government has restricted the sale of some vegetables from towns near the plant, but it says much of the prefecture's produce is safe.
Publicity³ campaign
To drive home that message, people like Yoko Nozaki, from Fukushima's Iwaki City, came to Tokyo.
Nozaki says she is there with farmers to convince shoppers that food from Iwaki is safe. Stalls are selling tomatoes, leeks⁴, garlic cloves⁵ and other items at discounted prices and people are buying.
Within a few hours, many of the vegetables are sold out. Housewife Yoko Noumi is heading home with a bag of tomatoes.
Noumi says she heard on television that the produce was safe to eat, so she decided⁶ to buy some to support the farmers.
The government's agriculture bans also cover some towns outside of Fukushima, but the neighboring prefectures have not seen their images tarnished⁷ in the same way.
Long term impact
Tokyo is the first stop on a multi-city tour for the farmers, but the public relations effort can only go so far. It is not likely to have much effect beyond Japan's borders.
Kazuichi Ishii, an official with Iwaki City, says when people around the world hear the name Fukushima, they group it with Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, the sites of the two other major nuclear accidents. And he does not see this changing, as long as the nuclear crisis continues to make headlines.
Tokyo Electric Power says it does not expect to have the plant fully⁸ under control for six to nine months, so the headlines are not likely to stop anytime soon.

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

4 leeks   

韭葱( leek的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Leeks and potatoes go well together in a soup. 汤中放韭菜和土豆尝起来很对味。
• When I was young I grew some leeks in a pot. 小时候我曾在花盆里种了些韭葱。

5 cloves   

n.丁香（热带树木的干花，形似小钉子，用作调味品，尤用作甜食的香料）( clove的名词复数 )；蒜瓣(a garlic ~|a ~of garlic)

参考例句：

• My country is rich in cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper, and precious stones. 我国盛产肉桂、丁香、生姜、胡椒和宝石。 来自辞典例句
• Ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper and cloves are common spices. 姜、肉豆蔻、肉桂、胡椒、丁香都是常用的香料。 来自辞典例句

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。