环球英语 — 142：World Health Day: Farming Methods

　　Voice 1
Hello, I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby¹ Jones. Welcome to Spotlight². This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
‘I read of climate change in the newspapers. But I can feel its effects on myself and my crops. The sun seems hotter. The temperature is higher. And the wind is drier. I hear about the greenhouse³ effect but I do not understand it. But the results are less water in the Amazon, floods in parts of northeast Brazil and more whirlwinds.’
Voice 1
Climate change is an issue⁴ that everyone seems to be talking about - not just farmers! In fact, people now consider it a health concern! World Health Day is on April the seventh every year. For 2008, the central idea is ‘Climate Change.’ In today’s Spotlight we tell how good farming⁵ methods can help feed people well and help protect the environment.
Voice 2
Francisco Geraldo Neto is a farmer in Caicara village, northeast Brazil. He and his family grow fruit trees, vegetables, cereal⁶ and traditional plants. In the beginning, it was difficult. Slash⁷ and burn methods had damaged their soils. Farmers have been using the slash and burn method for centuries. They use it to clear forests or woods. It involves cutting, or slashing⁸, down the trees. Farmers then burn the remains⁹. They use the ash to enrich¹⁰ the soil. And they use the clear land for their farms. But after a few years the soil becomes poorer. Crops decrease, and unwanted plants increase. When this happens, farmers leave the fields to recover. These ‘fallow fields’ may take many years to recover naturally. During that time, the farmers move to new lands. They begin the slash and burn process again. In the long term, slashing and burning uses more land and it can damage the soil.
Voice 1
There are advantages and disadvantages with the slash and burn method. Environmentalists are concerned about the possible long term damage to the land and the environment. However, finding¹¹ other methods is not always simple, or possible. Here is a story that tells how new methods helped one farmer.
Voice 2
Hanna Mupondu looks around. It is a long time since she has visited her home village, in South Africa. She is excited! She walks down the dusty¹² path. She looks around at all the beautiful painted houses and sighs. She wishes that people followed this tradition where she lived! She loves all the brightly coloured artwork!
Hanna walks up to her aunty’s house. The older woman opens the door and smiles!
Voice 4
‘Hanna, dear. It is so nice to see you! Come in and have some tea. Now tell me, how are you and the family?’
Voice 2
Hanna forces a smile. The past year has been difficult for them. Their farming business is not doing so well. She tells her aunty:
Voice 5
‘Our corn harvest this year was bad! The soil is tired! My husband says it is time to change fields - to slash and burn. I worry that the fallow field will not be productive’.
Voice 2
The aunty looks at the young woman. She is concerned. She can see lines of worry across Hanna’s head. She says;
Voice 4
‘I am sorry to hear that you have troubles. But maybe I can help you. Come outside. I want to show you something.’
Voice 1
Hanna walks outside and looks around. She sees beautiful sunflowers everywhere! She asks why they are there. She thought sunflowers were just weeds - unwanted plants. Her aunty explains:
Voice 4
‘We are growing these wild sunflowers in our fallow field. Five years ago we felt hopeless. Our harvests were poor. The soil was terrible, just like yours. There was too much acid¹³ in the soil after slashing and burning. But then, your cousin, Kofi, noticed something. He saw that crops grew better in particular parts of the field. It was where there were wild sunflowers before we began farming it. The next growing season, we decided¹⁴ to experiment. Kofi buried old plants and leaves into a large part of the field. And - our harvest produce was much better from that part of the field!! No more slash and burn for us!’
Voice 2
Hanna is surprised! Everybody used the slash and burn method. She did not know there was another way! Her aunty explains more;
Voice 4
‘We no longer let grass grow and then burn it. Instead, we plant particular trees and shrubs¹⁵ in our fallow field - like this wild sunflower. These woody plants put goodness¹⁶ back in the soil. Come close; see we are growing more than one kind of plant!’
Voice 2
Hanna looks around at all the different plants growing. But, it seems like a lot of work, working in the fallow field and the current¹⁷ field, planting new plants, waiting for them to grow. Surely¹⁸ it was easier to just let grass grow - and then burn it. Her aunty admits that it was not easy at first:
Voice 4
‘It is true we cannot grow crops in the fields for a few years. But the plants in the fallow field give us green manure¹⁹. We cut them back and use their leaves to feed the field we are farming now. And our animals can eat the sunflower leaves. Another tree produces fruit. You should tell your husband about fallowing with trees and plants’.
Voice 2
Hanna is not sure. Anyway, they do not have any sunflower seeds. But her aunty has thought of that. She gives Hanna some cuttings! New plants will grow from these cuttings. Hanna is not sure about the whole idea. But she takes the cuttings anyway. It is kind of her aunty to try and help.
Two years later, Hanna writes to her aunty:
Voice 5
‘Dear Aunty,
I hope you are well. Thank you for giving us the wild sunflower cuttings. My husband was not sure at first. But I found some sunflowers growing wild. I offered to work extra hard in our field. We used the wild sunflowers as green manure before planting our corn crop. And our produce improved a lot!
‘I wanted to say thank you - and spread this message. So I have painted our house with yellow sunflowers! The children helped me. And they learned²⁰ about our old tradition. Even my husband likes it! I feel connected to my home village - and the wisdom²¹ of sharing farming ideas!’
 

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 greenhouse   

n.花房，温室，玻璃暖房

参考例句：

• Behind the green house was a greenhouse.在那所绿房子后面是一个花房。
• The tomatoes were grown in the greenhouse.这些西红柿是在温室栽培的。

4 issue   

n.出版，发行，（报刊等）期、号，论点，问题，结果， （水，血等的）流出；vt.使流出，放出，发行（钞票等），发布（命令），出版（书等）发给；vi.发行，流出，造成...结果，进行辩护，传下

参考例句：

• I bought the book the day after its issue.这书出版后的第一天，我就去买了它。
• I'll support her down the line on that issue.在那个问题上我将全力支持她。

5 farming   

n.农事；耕作

参考例句：

• He lives by farming.他靠务农过活。
• He is farming in Africa.他在非洲经营农场。

6 cereal   

n.谷类，五谷，禾谷

参考例句：

• I have hot cereal every day for breakfast.我每天早餐吃热麦片粥。
• Soybeans are handled differently from cereal grains.大豆的加工处理与谷类的加工处理不同。

7 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

8 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 enrich   

vt.充实，使丰富，使富裕，使富有

参考例句：

• Some cream will enrich the sauce.在调味汁里加一些奶油会使其味道更加丰富。
• Music can enrich your life.音乐能丰富你的生活。

11 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

12 dusty   

adj.积满灰尘的；无聊的，含糊的，粉末状的

参考例句：

• He was pulling dead roots from the dusty earth.他正在从土中拔出枯死的根茎。
• One spring it was very windy and dusty here.有一年春天这里风沙很大。

13 acid   

n.酸；酸性物质；adj.酸的，酸性的

参考例句：

• Handle with care,or the acid may get out.小心轻放，否则酸会溢出来。
• The acid has been eating away the sides of the container.酸腐蚀着容器的四壁。

14 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。

15 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

16 goodness   

n.善良，善行，美德

参考例句：

• Would you have the goodness to turn off the radio?劳驾，请你把收音机关上好不好？
• Thank goodness,we've found a cure for the disease.好了，这病有救了！

17 current   

n.涌流，趋势，电流，水流，气流；adj.当前的，通用的，流通的，现在的，草写的，最近的

参考例句：

• Electric current is often powerful enough to kill a man.电流常强得足以致命。
• There is a story about her in the current number.最近一期上有关于她的故事。

18 surely   

adv.确实地，无疑地；必定地，一定地

参考例句：

• It'should surely be possible for them to reach an agreement.想必他们可以达成协议。
• Surely we'll profit from your work.我们肯定会从你的工作中得到益处。

19 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

20 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

21 wisdom   

n.智慧，明智的行为，学识，名言，贤人

参考例句：

• Experience is the mother of wisdom.经验为智慧之母。
• Ancient Greece was a fountain of wisdom and philosophy.古希腊是智慧和哲学的发源地。