S Korea downgrades FMD alert level

     SEOUL, April 12 (Xinhua) -- South Korea has downgraded its alert level for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) one notch¹ as the disease has practically come to an end, the Ministry² for Food, Agriculture, Forestry³ and Fisheries said Tuesday.

    The ministry（政府部门） said that it lowered the alert level from "orange" to "yellow," the second-lowest status in the four-tiered alert system, as no additional burial of livestock⁴ has occurred in three weeks after the last case in Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province, on March 21.

    The country dropped the alert level from the highest level of " red" to "orange" on March 24.

    The highly contagious⁵ animal disease, first confirmed on Nov. 29, has forced the country to cull⁶ more than 3.47 million livestock, mostly pigs and cattle, resulting in losses of 3 trillion won (2.6 billion U.S. dollars).

    The ministry, meanwhile, said that 670 animal quarantine experts will continue to decontaminate livestock farms once every week and keep close watch to see if any animals become sick.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 notch   

n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级

参考例句：

• The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
• He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

4 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

5 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

6 cull   

v.拣选；剔除；n.拣出的东西；剔除

参考例句：

• It is usually good practice to cull the poorest prior to field planting.通常在实践上的好方法是在出圃栽植前挑出最弱的苗木。
• Laura was passing around photographs she'd culled from the albums at home.劳拉正在分发她从家里相册中挑选出的相片。