(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.
Things may be changing soon for some crops in Africa. A group called the African Orphan Crops Consortium says these plants are not getting enough attention. And it thinks they could help ease hunger and improve nutrition on the continent.
Baobab, known as the "wonder tree" because its fruit has antiviral properties and is rich in vitamins, will be the first of 100 crops whose genomes will be sequenced by the African Orphan Crops Consortium.
The consortium opened the African Plant Breeding Academy last year in Nairobi, Kenya. The academy is the result of cooperation among international organizations. They are hoping to use genetic information from 100 African plants and trees that researchers have largely ignored, but food scientists say these crops have lots of possibilities.
Howard Yana-Shapiro is a senior fellow at the University of California, Davis. He is also the chief agricultural officer and global director of Plant Science and External Research for Mars Incorporated - the candy company.
Mr Shapiro says he began thinking about ways to improve nutrition at the local level after seeing how poor nutrition affects children in Africa and India. He says a woman who does not eat right during her pregnancy can affect the physical and mental health of a baby. These problems, he says, can not be corrected.
Mr Shapiro spoke to VOA from Nairobi. He said the African Plant Breeding Academy will work on many different kinds of plants.
He says hundreds of African plants have been ignored because they are not economically important in international trade. But food scientists say the plants still have value to people in Africa.
The African Orphan Crops Consortium plans to train plant breeders and researchers over a one-year period about the genetics of these crops. The consortium hopes they will produce more food with higher nutritional levels.
Mr Shapiro says anything researchers learn will be shared with the world without cost.
And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Learning English. For more agriculture stories, go to our website learningenglish.voanews.com, where you can also find transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our reports. I'm Christopher Cruise.
文本来自51voa，译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载
词汇解释
1.antiviral adj. 抗病毒的；抗滤过性病原体的 n. 抗病毒物质（等于antidote）
Interferon is probably the most significant nonspecific antiviral substance.
干扰素可能是最重要的一类非特异性抗病毒物质。
2.pregnancy n. 怀孕；丰富，多产；意义深长
During the third month of pregnancy the sex of the child becomes determinable.
孩子的性别在妊娠期第三个月便可查明。
3.genetics n. 遗传学
Students are flocking to such fields as genetics and molecular biology.
大学生正在大量从事诸如遗传学和分子生物学等领域的研究。
内容解析
1.Mr Shapiro says anything researchers learn will be shared with the world without cost.
without cost 不计价，不受约束，无条件供应
The scientific books will be sent without cost.
这些科学书籍将免费赠送。
Wooden Cases without cost, no recycling needed.
木箱包装不计价，不回收。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
非洲的一些作物可能很快发生改变，一家名为非洲孤生作物协会的组织称这些作物没有得到足够的重视，认为它们可以帮助减缓非洲的饥饿并改善营养。
该协会去年在肯尼亚内罗毕开办了非洲植物育种学院，这是国际组织合作的结果，它们希望使用非洲100种作物和树木的基因信息，研究者大都忽略了这些信息，但食品科学家称这些作物存在多种可能性。
霍华德·雅娜-夏皮罗是加州大学戴维斯分校的高级研究员，他也是糖果公司玛氏食品公司植物科学与对外研究部门的首席农业主管和全球总监。
夏皮罗说他在目睹了营养不良对非洲和印度儿童的危害后，开始思考想办法改善当地的营养现状。他说孕妇如果孕期饮食不合理，会影响到婴儿的身心健康，他说这些问题是无法修复的。
夏皮罗在内罗毕接受美国之音的采访，他说非洲植物育种学院将研究多种作物。
他说有数百种非洲作物因为在国际贸易中不具备经济重要性而被忽略，但粮食科学家称这些作物对非洲人有价值。
非洲孤生作物协会计划就这些作物的基因特点对繁育者和研究者进行为期一年，协会希望这些作物能产出更多更高营养的食物。
夏皮罗说研究者得出的任何成果都会无偿与全世界分享。
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道，登陆learningenglish.voanews.com获得更多农业报道，我是克里斯多夫·克鲁斯。
