美国国家公共电台 NPR--Drought conditions in Kansas, the nation's largest wheat producer, take a toll

Drought conditions in Kansas, the nation's largest wheat producer, take a toll¹

Transcript²

A deep and persistent³ drought has parched⁴ much of Kansas, and wheat farmers there now expect the smallest harvest in at least 60 years.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Drought has withered⁵ wheat fields in Kansas. Farmers there expect the smallest harvest more than half a century. Here's our friend Frank Morris of our member station KCUR.

FRANK MORRIS, BYLINE⁶: Kansas is the Wheat State, and that's hard to miss. Big, white grain elevators tower eight or 10 stories over little prairie towns. And usually, this time of year, thick waist-high wheat carpets big parts of the state.

JOHN THAEMERT: You'd just be smiling and say, yep, we're going to have a good crop. That's typically what ground like this would look like. Not this year.

MORRIS: John Thaemert, a robust⁷ guy in his mid-60s sporting faded overalls⁸ and a bright green shirt, is standing⁹ on ground his grandfather farmed before him. It's a patchy field, dotted with stunted¹⁰ plants.

THAEMERT: All of my wheat looks pretty bad, but this is by far the worst - thin, short, dead spots typical of a crop that you would want to abandon.

MORRIS: Because the grain from this field wouldn't cover the cost of harvesting it. Farther west, deeper into the drought - crops even worse. Farmer Mike McClellan says he'll likely abandon all 1,500 acres of wheat he planted. That means spending another $20,000 just to kill his crop with herbicide. That way he can collect crop insurance and stop the failing plants from drawing any more precious water from the dry ground.

MIKE MCLELLAN: You're seeing a lot of depression out here in farm country just because of this. It's a hard decision to decide to destroy your crop.

MORRIS: A punishing, sustained drought is forcing that decision on farmers across parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska, according to Kansas Wheat Commission researcher Aaron Harries¹¹.

AARON HARRIES: Oh, yeah. I mean, farmers have gone through two and, in some cases, three years now where you just wait for it to rain and it doesn't rain. And that's just depressing for folks.

MORRIS: It's also depressing wheat supply. Harries says this year's Kansas wheat harvest will be the smallest since the Eisenhower administration in the 1950s. That's upending a long history of Kansas wheat feeding people across the world.

HARRIES: Unfortunately, we're seeing now, which we've never seen before, is - some Eastern European wheat is being imported into the United States. That truly is unfortunate. And if you think about it, that wheat is going to go on trains into Kansas.

MORRIS: To Kansas flour mills that normally buy wheat from Kansas farmers. It's a mind-boggling coals-to-Newcastle situation, but wheat's in short supply. It's not just the drought. Russia's invasion of Ukraine choked exports from those countries and drove up prices. Abandoned fields on the high plains just make matters worse. And they're also taking a toll on Kansas farm towns. Cars, trucks and clothes aren't selling. Businesses up and down Main Street are taking a hit.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Good, you?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #: Good. I'm all right.

MORRIS: In Ellsworth, Kan., Riley Zamrzla runs the co-op where farmers sell wheat and buy farm supplies. But with little wheat to fuel the local economy this summer, he says the town's just hanging on.

RILEY ZAMRZLA: Pretty much everybody's just praying that we get a - get an average fall crop. I don't want to go on another bad crop. So hopefully fall crops turn around.

ZAMRZLA: And they might. Kansas farmers got some good news recently. It came from the sky.

THAEMERT: We're going to get wet.

MORRIS: A sudden downpour drives farmer John Thaemert into his metal machine shed to keep from getting soaked. But beaming at the deluge¹², Thaemert looks about ready to go out and dance in it.

THAEMERT: Yeah, doesn't that smell good? And it sounds good. This is a rare treat for us now. Boy, it's coming down. And they're big drops.

MORRIS: This rain comes too late for most of Thaemert's wheat, but it's good for other crops he's planning to harvest this fall, and it sure boosts his spirits.

THAEMERT: Yeah, this is a nice rain.

MORRIS: For NPR News, I'm Frank Morris in Sylvan¹³ Grove¹⁴, Kan.

(SOUNDBITE OF YEARS' "THE ASSASSINATION OF DOW JONES")

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 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

4 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

5 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

8 overalls   

n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣

参考例句：

• He is in overalls today.他今天穿的是工作裤。
• He changed his overalls for a suit.他脱下工装裤，换上了一套西服。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 stunted   

adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活
• But the landed oligarchy had stunted the country's democratic development for generations. 但是好几代以来土地寡头的统治阻碍了这个国家民主的发展。

11 harries   

n.使苦恼( harry的名词复数 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰v.使苦恼( harry的第三人称单数 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰

参考例句：

• ex libris David Harries 戴维∙哈里斯藏书
• In defence, he harries attacking midfielders and helps protect the defensive line. 防守中，逼抢对方进攻性中场，帮助保护防线。 来自互联网

12 deluge   

n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥

参考例句：

• This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候，这条小溪能变作洪流。
• I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。

13 sylvan   

adj.森林的

参考例句：

• Venerable oaks forms a sylvan archway.古老的栎树形成一条林荫拱道。
• They lived in a sylvan retreat.他们住在一个林中休养地。

14 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。