VOA慢速英语 2008 1014a

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Farming means growing crops on a good-size piece of land in the country, right? Well, a farm can also produce food in small spaces in the city. Just ask Will Allen.
　

Will Allen

Will Allen is an urban farmer in the American Midwest. And last month he became one of the twenty-five winners of this year's MacArthur fellowships¹, commonly called genius grants. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation secretly chooses people to receive five hundred thousand dollars over five years. They can spend it any way they want.

Will Allen co-directs a nonprofit organization called Growing Power. He helped create the group in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in nineteen ninety-five. Growing Power has a series of greenhouses on about one hectare of land in the city.

The farm provides low-cost fresh fruits and vegetables, especially for poor people. People without much money often eat unhealthy diets that can lead to problems like heart disease and diabetes². Part of the problem is that poor communities often lack markets with fresh produce.

Will Allen also feels strongly that food that has to travel long distances from field to market costs too much.

During the last ten years, he has expanded the work of Growing Power. For example, his daughter Erika manages projects in Chicago, Illinois. One Chicago organization that they work with is the Farm-City Market Basket Program. This program sells weekly baskets of fresh produce. Members of a farming cooperative³ provide the food at reduced prices.

Teenagers and young adults work as aides at Growing Power. They can also study agricultural methods at workshops organized by the group. People who want to learn how to start city farms can get intensive training at these workshops in Milwaukee.

Will Allen is the son of a laborer⁴ who could not read. As a child, Will wanted to be a basketball player. He became the first African-American to play basketball for the University of Miami in Florida.

After graduating, he played professionally. He retired⁵ in nineteen seventy-seven. He and his wife, Cynthia, then moved to Wisconsin. Will Allen grew vegetables and sold them at local markets in the Milwaukee area for years. He purchased the farm that became Growing Power.

His dream now is to build a vertical⁶ farm, in a building five floors high.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Transcripts⁷, MP3s and podcasts of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com.

1 fellowships   

团体( fellowship的名词复数 )； 研究员职位； 伙伴关系； 学术奖金

参考例句：

• The ambassador has endowed a $1 million public-service fellowships program. 大使资助了一项100万美元的公共服务奖学金计划。
• We give three research fellowships a year. 我们每年给叁个研究生的奖学金。

2 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

3 cooperative   

adj.有合作意向的，合作的；n.合作社（企业）等

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• We decided to set up a cooperative.我们决定开办一家合作社。

4 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

7 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句