2005年NPR美国国家公共电台八月-Midwest Drought Hits Soy, Corn Crops Hard

Close to home, another natural disaster is having a major impact on parts of the Midwest, it's one of the worst droughts in decades, thousands of Illinois farmers may lose as much as a third of their crops. And the federal government is expected to declare most of the state's counties a disaster. Sandy Hausman reports.

Last Thursday night at 7pm, 44-year-old John Acmen stood on the porch of a two-story farmhouse¹, designed by his great grandfather. Between his grey beard and his wire frame glasses, a huge smile had spread, he'd been watching the radar² for weeks. And one of those scattered³ thunder storms finally stopped over his farm.

I can't wipe the smile off my face. I may walk around with the silly grin for a while. You know even a hard rain like this, it looks like 'wow this is a drought breaker'. But it probably won't even be an inch, when it's all said and done.

In fact, he got 7/8 of an inch in one hour, not bad considering the areas had less than four inches of rain this summer.

This is too late with corn crop. I think we've lost a third of the crop on the corn. But there's still time for uh pumpkins⁵, there's still time for beans, uh, I think it was just in time.

Like many of his neighbors, John Acmen was once heavily invested in corn and soy beans, but seven years ago, he and his wife Eve added pumpkins, 10000 to 15000 of them. They also started growing flowers and fruit. By cultivating a variety of crops, the Acmens reduced their risk of drought-related disaster. Some plants do better than others in times like these, but specialty⁶ crops tend to be labor⁷ intensive, and the Acmens had to work extra hard during this drought.

You get up at the crack of dawn so you could start watering. We have probably, just to save our dwarf⁸ apple trees, I've been thinking we put on 17000 gallons of water in three weeks.

And he's been working overtime⁹ to control weeds.

Because of the drought, a lot of herbicides didn't work. It takes rain to activate¹⁰ the chemical or to be taken up by the, by the plants. Without that rain, the weeds came up eventually, 'coz the herbicide was long broken down and gone. I cultivated our pumpkin⁴ patch five times, I've never had to do that before.

Other farmers face different drought-related problems. Makurity walks through a corn field where some ears have turned marshy¹¹ and gray.

That's gross, (that's smut) what is it?
It's a fungus¹². It tends to show up a little bit more in tougher environments like what we got now.

Yourdy removes the husk from another ear that from the outside looks perfectly¹³ good. In fact, the top of the cob is empty. Without rain, he says, pesticides¹⁴ didn't work, allowing root worms to become beetles¹⁵, they probably ate the silk off this year, interfering¹⁶ with pollination¹⁷, and preventing proper development.

A fourth that ear has no corn on it, I'm gonna make a kernel¹⁸ count here 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, I'm gonna call it 12 kernels¹⁹' long. Typically, you'd probably love being looking at 40 plus kernels' long.

For some farmers, damage was so bad that they'd plow²⁰ their fields under rather than spend money on a poor harvest. Fortunately, Yourdy says he has crop insurance that may cover his costs, but there will be no profits from corn. Soybeans could still prove profitable, but they too are infested²¹ with bugs²², spider mites²⁴ and aphides, Yourdy is taking the situation in stride, he recalls last year when many here in central Illinois had record yields. And he shares the sentiment expressed by Eve Acreman.

Coming into this, you, you've got to know that you're gonna have good years, and you're gonna have bad years, and you're just gonna have to roll with the time. 'Coz if you don't, you'll lose your mind.

In addition to weather, there is one more factor beyond a farmer's control. World prices for corn and soybeans remain relatively²⁵ low in spite of the drought. Harvest was especially good last year, and plenty of corn and soybeans remain in storage more than enough to meet demand.

For NPR news, I am Sandy Hausman.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
plow under:Cause to vanish, overwhelm, as in The independent bookstores are being plowed²⁶ under by the large chains. This term alludes²⁷ to the farmer's burying vegetation by turning it into the soil with a plow.
red spider :红蜘蛛。Any of various small red mites of the family Tetranychidae that feed on vegetation, causing damage to the leaves. Also called spider mite²³. The Red Spider Mite is a predatory mite found in dry environments, generally considered a pest.

1 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

2 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

3 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

4 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

5 pumpkins   

n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊

参考例句：

• I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

6 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

9 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

10 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

11 marshy   

adj.沼泽的

参考例句：

• In August 1935,we began our march across the marshy grassland. 1935年8月，我们开始过草地。
• The surrounding land is low and marshy. 周围的地低洼而多沼泽。

12 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

13 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

14 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

17 pollination   

n.授粉

参考例句：

• The flowers get pollination by insects.这些花通过昆虫授粉。
• Without sufficient pollination,the growth of the corn is stunted.没有得到充足的授粉，谷物的长势就会受阻。

18 kernel   

n.(果实的)核，仁；(问题)的中心，核心

参考例句：

• The kernel of his problem is lack of money.他的问题的核心是缺钱。
• The nutshell includes the kernel.果壳裹住果仁。

19 kernels   

谷粒( kernel的名词复数 )； 仁； 核； 要点

参考例句：

• These stones contain kernels. 这些核中有仁。
• Resolving kernels and standard errors can also be computed for each block. 还可以计算每个块体的分辨核和标准误差。

20 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

21 infested   

adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于

参考例句：

• The kitchen was infested with ants. 厨房里到处是蚂蚁。
• The apartments were infested with rats and roaches. 公寓里面到处都是老鼠和蟑螂。

22 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 mite   

n.极小的东西；小铜币

参考例句：

• The poor mite was so ill.可怜的孩子病得这么重。
• He is a mite taller than I.他比我高一点点。

24 mites   

n.（尤指令人怜悯的）小孩( mite的名词复数 )；一点点；一文钱；螨

参考例句：

• The only discovered animals are water bears, mites, microscopic rotifers. 能够发现的动物只有海蜘蛛、螨和微小的轮虫。 来自辞典例句
• Mites are frequently found on eggs. 螨会经常出现在蛋上。 来自辞典例句

25 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

26 plowed   

v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句
• He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句

27 alludes   

提及，暗指( allude的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the vegetable kingdom Mr. Mivart only alludes to two cases. 在植物界中，密伐脱先生仅提出两点。
• Black-box testing alludes to test that are conducted at the software interface. 黑箱测试是指测试软件接口进行。