VOA标准英语2010年-La Nina Creates Concerns About Indones

The rainy season officially started in Indonesia a few weeks ago, but many here would say that this year, it never really ended. Summer has been unusually wet, and since September heavy downpours take a toll¹ on crops. With so much rain damaging harvests, Indonesia faces new concerns about food security.

Damaged crops

Cino Wawan sits in front of crates² overflowing³ with cabbages. He grabs the vegetables one by one, and rips off damp, dead leaves.

Cino says that he has to peel off two layers of rotten leaves for the cabbages to look appealing enough to be sold. When the weather is not as bad as it has been in the past few months, he only gets rid of one dirty layer.

Soaring prices

It is not only more work, it also means that he cannot get a good price for the vegetables.

This is bad news for the 325 farmers who sell their crops through the Mitra Tani Parahyangan cooperative here.

Another young man arrives on a motorbike, a large bag precariously⁴ resting on his lap.

This is Epis, who, like many farmers on the fertile island of Java, makes a living on a small, 1.5 hectare, plot of land. He grows a little bit of rice, some tomatoes and the banana flowers he came to sell.

He says that if it rains too much his income will take a beating. Some of his crop will rot; tomatoes will take too long to ripen⁵; and young banana trees might even drown.

Effects of La Nina

The problem is the weather pattern known as La Nina. It is the reverse of the El Nino, which typically brings drought to Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia and Australia.

La Nina brings cooler-than-usual sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, which usually triggers heavy rains in Southeast Asia.

Excessive downpours in normally dry areas

Its effects vary throughout the Indonesian archipelago, and even though some normally dry areas may benefit from more rains, the climatology agency warns that Java island, the country's rice basket, will see excessive downpours this year.

Officials expect the heavy rains to reduce the rice, palm oil, coffee cocoa, and rubber harvests. And the bad weather could slow down extraction of commodities such as tin and coal.

The Indonesian government already is preparing for a bad harvest. Even though the country in recent years has exported rice, the state logistics agency imported rice this month for the first time in three years.

Benni Sormin is the assistant representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Jakarta. He says buying rice was prudent⁶ since La Nina is expected to last for four to six more months. Benni said, "I think that is why the government took what is, to me, a wise decision because if you have any chance to buy cheaper rice, why don't you do it?"

Ujang Majudin, the president of the Mitra Tani Parahyangan cooperative, crosses the large barn where three people load corn into large green crates. There is no cold room to store the crop, and with such damp weather, fruits and vegetables can rot in a couple of days.

Experts warn of disruption

Agriculture experts say that because this year will be wetter, farmers might not have enough sunshine to dry grain. And too many storms can disrupt work in the fields, and damage roads, making it hard to get crops to market.

Ujang Majudin is worried. He says that he expects the cooperative to produce about half the normal amount of rice, fruit and vegetables. And even though prices have started to rise due to diminishing supply, he predicts a tough time ahead for the workers and their families.

Ujang says that he fears the whole country faces hard times.

Already the bad weather has exacted a toll: flashfloods killed over 100 people in Papua recently, and floods sent families scrambling⁷ for shelter in the capital Jakarta. High waves render navigation dangerous throughout the archipelago, and dengue fever is spreading because all the water means mosquitoes thrive.

The Indonesian disaster management agency has already warned of possible disasters, such as landslides⁸, linked to the heavy rains and has been put on alert.
 

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

3 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

4 precariously   

adv.不安全地；危险地；碰机会地；不稳定地

参考例句：

• The hotel was perched precariously on a steep hillside. 旅馆危险地坐落在陡峭的山坡上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The phone was perched precariously on the window ledge. 电话放在窗台上，摇摇欲坠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 ripen   

vt.使成熟；vi.成熟

参考例句：

• I'm waiting for the apples to ripen.我正在等待苹果成熟。
• You can ripen the tomatoes on a sunny windowsill.把西红柿放在有阳光的窗台上可以让它们成熟。

6 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

7 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。