VOA标准英语2012--Drought Taking Toll on Midwest Corn Producers

 

Drought Taking Toll¹ on Midwest Corn Producers

One of those farmers, Alan Bowers² Junior, can see and hear the profits from his corn disintegrating³. The corn stalks on his field near Du Bois Illinois are so dry and brittle⁴, they break up just by touching⁵ them. None of the stalks are producing usable corn.

Because of the drought, thousands of hectares of his farm are in similar shape.

"It's very devastating," said Bowers. "You drive past it every day. It's out your back door. You get up in the morning, and you think it might be another 13 months before we get a paycheck. The corn and soybean crop is our paycheck."

In mid-July, Bowers made a heart-wrenching decision. Faced with a near total loss of his corn crop, he decided⁶ to cut it down.

"We are making what they call corn silage out of this for the animals, for the cows, and if you wait until it's completely dried up it won't even make suitable feed for the animals," Bowers explained. "So we have to do it in a timely fashion before the hot temperatures and winds dry it out even more and turns it completely into you might say dust."

Dust is the consistency⁷ of much of Bowers' farmland, exposed to the wind now that the stalks are cut down. Some of the only stalks left standing⁸ are for crop insurance adjusters to inspect. 

Alan Bowers and his wife Lori are hoping for a modest insurance settlement just so that they can make ends meet until next year.

"We have no boss, and nobody to help us, and it's tough, you have to work together you have to work with a husband a wife and family and together try to work through it," Lori Bowers explained.

The remaining land on the Bowers farm is filled with soybeans, and unless a significant amount of rain falls in the next several weeks, the outlook for production is just as grim.

Lori's husband Alan says if next year is anything like the present, he isn't sure the farm that has been in his family for four generations can survive.

"It will be five times as challenging as what it is this year," Alan Bowers noted⁹.

Bowers adds that the only way to prevent losing his farm is to have more of what he and his wife have been praying for this year, rain. 

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 bowers   

n.（女子的）卧室( bower的名词复数 )；船首锚；阴凉处；鞠躬的人

参考例句：

• If Mr Bowers is right, low government-bond yields could lose their appeal and equities could rebound. 如果鲍尔斯先生的预计是对的，那么低收益的国债将会失去吸引力同时股价将会反弹。 来自互联网

3 disintegrating   

v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• As a poetic version of a disintegrating world, this one pleased him. 作为世界崩溃论在文学上的表现，他非常喜欢这个学说。 来自辞典例句
• Soil animals increase the speed of litter breakdown by disintegrating tissue. 土壤动物通过分解组织，加速落叶层降解的速度。 来自辞典例句

4 brittle   

adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的

参考例句：

• The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
• She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。

5 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

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 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。