VOA常速英语2014--亚洲细菌威胁到佛罗里达橘子树（在线收听）

Asian Bacteria Threatens Florida Orange Trees  亚洲细菌威胁到佛罗里达橘子树

Florida's citrus fruit industry is facing a serious threat from a bacteria carried by an Asian insect. The widespread infestation again highlights the danger of transferring non-native species to American soil.

Citrus ranchers in Florida are burning orange trees damaged by a spotted brown bug called psyllid. It is a native of Asia and carries what the Chinese call "the yellow dragon disease.

佛罗里达柑橘经营者们正在焚烧这种被称为木虱的棕色虫子破坏过的橘子树。这是一种原生亚洲的昆虫并且携带中国人称的“黄龙病”。

" Florida ranchers call it greening.”

“佛罗里达农场主们称它为绿虫。”

While feeding on citrus leaves, the bug infests them with bacteria that clog the tree's capillary system, slowly choking it to death. The fruit borne by the diseased plant is small, it falls off and the tree eventually dies.

以柑橘叶为食的这种小虫子自身携带的细菌会堵塞树的毛细管系统,导致树木慢慢窒息死亡。患病树木结出的果实很小,最终导致脱落引发树木死亡。

No citrus-growing countries have developed a cure.

而不种植柑橘的国家已经想出了一种治疗方法。

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Farmer Ellis Hunt is extremely frustrated. “When you spend the money to raise it, and get it almost there, and it turns loose and hits the ground, that's...a disaster. That's heartbreaking.”

农民埃利斯?亨特感到非常沮丧。”当你花大价钱精心培育橘树,几乎就要开花结果,转瞬间功亏一篑,那是…一场灾难。令人感到心碎。”

To make matters worse, Florida's 9-billion citrus growing industry, second only to Brazil, is fighting growing foreign competition and declining sales due to U.S. consumers' growing aversion to sugar and carbohydrates.

更糟糕的是, 仅次于巴西的佛罗里达90亿元蓬勃发展的柑橘产业,对抗日益趋增的外国竞争而且由于美国消费者厌恶糖和碳水化合物造成销售下降。

The industry's 75,000 jobs depend on finding a cure to the disease.

这个行业提供的75000个就业机会现在依赖于寻找治愈这一顽疾的良方。

At the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center, some of the world's best botanists and entomologists are trying to save the existing trees, grow new ones resistant to the bacterium, and make the insect incapable of transmitting the disease.

而在佛罗里达大学的柑橘研究及教育中心,世界上最顶尖的一些植物学家和昆虫学家试图保存现有的橘树,培育新的抗菌树,使昆虫无法传播疾病。

Entomologist Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski said the problem is keeping her awake at night.

昆虫学家克里斯汀?佩雷兹?斯特林斯基表示这个问题让她不能安心入眠。

“It's something I think about every day. I think about it at night when I'm supposed to be sleeping. It's a huge problem, and we need to come up with as many tools as we can.”

“我每天都在思考解决之道。晚上睡觉时候都在想。这是一个大问题,我们需要想出尽可能多的工具。”

Pelz-Stelinski said it may take as long as five years to come up with a way to make the psyllid bug free of the dangerous bacteria.

佩雷兹?斯特林斯基表示可能需要长达5年的时间才能想出一个办法让木虱虫危险的细菌不再具有威胁。

In the meantime, botanists are experimenting with grafting as a way to keep the existing trees alive, while citrus farmers try to control the disease by spraying the trees and feeding them with nutrients-added expenses that further shrink their income.

同时,植物学家正在尝试嫁接的方式保持现有的树木生存,而柑橘种植者们试图通过喷洒树木和供给养分控制疾病费用,当然这会进一步降低他们的收入。