2006年VOA标准英语-Maryland's Tobacco Farmers Struggling to S

By Craig Fitzpatrick
Calvert County, Maryland
06 February 2006
 
watch Tobacco Farmers report

In recent months, several countries in Europe have banned cigarette smoking in enclosed public spaces, something many local governments in the United States have been doing for years. This has had a devastating² effect on U.S. tobacco farmers.  Although many farmers have quit growing this once-profitable crop,  some continue a tradition that has been part of their families for generations.  VOA's Craig Fitzpatrick traveled to the state of Maryland to talk with some farmers who are still trying to make a go of it. Ted¹ Landphair narrates³ the story.

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When David Cox cuts tobacco on his farm in Calvert County, Maryland, he uses a knife just like those used by farmers 300 years ago.  He says this is the most efficient way of cutting tobacco because they have yet to invent a machine that can do this.  

 

David Cox and his crew harvest Maryland's tobacco   
  

"Today we are harvesting tobacco.  We have to manually cut the plant from the ground and then we can spear it on these sticks, which are then transferred to hang in a barn to cure."

David and his crew continue to harvest tobacco despite changes that have swept through this county in recent years. 

Health concerns over cigarette smoking and lawsuits⁴ against tobacco companies have caused a rapid decline in the number of tobacco farms.   In Maryland, the decline was accelerated by the state government, which used a portion of the funds from the tobacco industry's legal settlement to pay farmers not to grow tobacco.  Many farmers took the money.   

 
Maryland tobacco farmer Franklin Wood 
  
But others, like Franklin Wood, refused the buyout. "It was very lucrative⁵ to people my age to take the money and go; it would have meant quite a bit of money to me.  But I had a big philosophical⁶ difference with it and I didn't want to sell my freedom of choice."

So farmers who took the money are prevented by law from growing tobacco or even storing a neighbor's crop in their barns, and many barns stand empty.  This also means there will be fewer men like Joe Young to help harvest tobacco. "I've always been a hard worker, so the work doesn't bother me.  But there aren't very many people who can even do this work anymore.  We're some of the last of the breed, white and black."

The younger generation doesn't want to continue tobacco farming either. Why put up with fluctuating market prices, labor⁷ shortages, and uncertain weather?  Despite the hardships, Franklin Wood says it's in his blood.  "It was part of our culture and our heritage.  It's been part of our life.  It paid the bills in my father's time and in my grandfather's time.  It was the money crop, as everybody knows, back to colonial days."

Mr. Cox adds, "It's been here in Southern Maryland since the settlers came and we don't know how much longer it will be here. But if the markets are acceptable to the few of us remaining, I'm sure it will stay awhile longer."

On productive farms like David Cox's, tobacco returns more income per hectare than any other crop.  And Calvert County, Maryland has a reputation for producing some of the finest tobacco in the world.   David expects to sell his tobacco to buyers from Switzerland.

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

4 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

5 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

6 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

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。