2006年VOA标准英语-African Leaders Meet to Tackle Food Crisis

By Gilbert Da Costa
Abuja
11 June 2006

An elderly woman carries part of the food ration¹ she received from the World Food Program in the drought-stricken southern Somali town of Wajid (file)   
  
African leaders, farmers and international agriculture experts are meeting in Nigeria to come up with solutions to soil degradation² and food shortages on the world's poorest continent. 

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The so-called African fertilizer summit hopes to adopt strategies that could boost food production on the continent.

Some 200 million people in Africa are said to suffer from hunger, partly due to low soil fertility.

Experts say increased use of fertilizer is very important to achieving the green revolution Africa desperately³ needs.

"Clearly, African farmers need to replenish⁴ the soil nutrients⁵. That means using chemical fertilizer and organic methods, both," said Jeffrey Sachs, a professor of sustainable development at Columbia University in New York. "This is critical, because we know that when farmers can use these better inputs⁶, their food outputs can be doubled or tripled, or even quadrupled in some cases. Africa is a hungry continent, in part, because the soils are depleted⁷ of nutrients."

Farmers in Africa use an average of eight kilograms of fertilizer per hectare yearly, as opposed to between 100- and 200-kilograms in other regions.

Average farm yields have continue to decline, leading to hunger and malnutrition⁸.

Professor Sachs says rich countries have a responsibility to help Africa reverse the trend.

"The key, however, is not only what to do, but how to get it done, because Africa's poor farmers are too poor to buy the chemical and organic soil nutrients that they need," he added. "So, the rich world, instead of shipping⁹ food aid, should be helping¹⁰ small-holder African farmers get the inputs of fertilizer, improved seeds and organic methods, so that the farmers can grow more food on their own, and feed the African continent."

More than 500 delegates, including donor¹¹ agencies, African agriculture ministers, farmers and international agriculture experts are attending technical sessions that opened in Abuja on Saturday.

Several African leaders and heads of international development agencies are expected in the Nigerian capital on Tuesday to endorse a framework for agricultural growth, food security and rural development

1 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

2 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

3 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

4 replenish   

vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满

参考例句：

• I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
• We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。

5 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网

7 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

8 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

9 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。