(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.
Scientists have discovered the genetic secrets of two unpopular members of two favorite food families. They hope the discoveries will produce tastier tomatoes and stronger rice.
The scientists discovered the complete set of genetic rules of African rice and wild tomatoes. They published their studies in two reports in the journal Nature Genetics.
There are good reasons African rice and wild tomatoes have not been popular. Asian rice is more productive and easier to process than African rice. The wild tomato is poisonous.
Rod Wing is a plant biologist at Arizona State University. He helped map the African rice genes. And there is some good news to report.
"There are some varieties that have been kinda well-adapted to grow in kind of mangrove areas, which are quite a bit more salty than you would experience for Asian rice."
Mr. Wing says African rice can grow in salty and even poisonous soil. And it can grow around weeds and in extremely dry conditions. He says this strength is increasingly important as climate change makes crop production more difficult. He says that this is important because the Earth's population is growing quickly.
"There's gonna be two-to two-and-a-half-billion more people on the planet in less than 40 years, and that's a pretty scary scenario."
Scientists will be able to make better rice faster. They can now identify the genes that control what is good about African rice and combine those genes with Asian rice.
The wild tomato also has some good qualities. Scientists found that it can grow in salty as well as very dry conditions, like the African rice. Bjorn Usadel of Germany's RWTH Aachen University is one of the scientists who published the genetic maps of the two plants. The map identifies the genes that may be responsible for these qualities.
"The tomatoes are green and potentially there's something inside that's just not healthy; but there's also other interesting things inside."
The new map could also help improve the quality of tomatoes sold in food stores. Many people say these tomatoes do not taste very good. Mr. Usadel says researchers found differences in the genes of wild and farm-grown tomatoes that affect how they taste and smell.
"So, even though these wild tomatoes definitely don't taste better, this population gives us actually an indication where the taste is coming from."
The scientist says there is another use for the map. He says it will permit scientists to make sure that any new kinds of tomatoes developed from wild tomato do not carry any of its poisonous genes.
And that's the VOA Learning English Agriculture Report. For more agriculture stories, go to our website 51voa.com. I'm Caty Weaver.
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.poisonous adj. 有毒的；恶毒的；讨厌的
A lot of poisonous waste water comes from that chemical factory.
那个化工厂排出大量有毒的废水。
2.mangrove n. 红树林
It is the world's largest tidal mangrove forest.
它是世界上最大的红树林沼泽地。
3.indication n. 指示，指出；迹象；象征
He gave no indication that he was ready to compromise.
他没有流露出打算妥协的迹象。
内容解析
1.The map identifies the genes that may be responsible for these qualities.
be responsible for 对……负责；是……的原因
He should be responsible for that.
他应该对此事负有责任。
The school is legally responsible for your child's safety.
学校对你的孩子负有法律上的安全责任。
参考译文
美国之音慢速英语节目，这里是农业报道。
科学家们发现了人们最喜欢的两种食物家族中两个不受欢迎的成员的基因秘密。希望这些发现能够帮助生产更可口的西红柿和更有韧性的稻米。
科学家们发现非洲稻和野生西红柿的完整基因图谱，将研究结果发表在《自然遗传》两篇报告中。
非洲稻和野生西红柿不受欢迎有很多原因，亚洲稻比非洲稻更高产，更容易加工。而野生西红柿有毒。
Rod Wing是亚利桑那州立大学的植物生物学家，他参与绘制了非洲稻基因图谱，下面是他的一些好消息。
“一些品种经过改良，非常适应在红树林区生长，对亚洲稻来说，这种土质盐分太高。”
Wing先生表示，非洲稻可以在盐分很高的甚至有毒的土壤中生长。也可以在杂草周围以及极其干燥的环境中生长。他说，由于气候变化导致农作物生产更加困难，这种优势越来越重要。他说，因为全球人口迅速增长，这一点尤其重要。
“在不到40年的时间内，地球上将会新增20亿到25亿人口，这是非常可怕的场景。”
科学家们将能够更快地研制出更好的稻米。他们可以识别出控制非洲稻优良品质的基因，并将这些基因与亚洲稻相结合。
野生西红柿也具备一些优良品质。科学家们发现，它也可以在盐分也能搞以及极端干燥的环境中生长，就像非洲稻一样。德国亚琛工业大学的Bjorn Usadel是发表这两种作物基因图谱的科学家之一。该图谱确定了控制这些优秀品质的基因。
“这种西红柿是绿色的，可能里面有不健康的东西，但是也有其它一些有趣的东西。”
这份新的基因图谱可以帮助改善食品商店里出售的西红柿的品质。很多人说这些西红柿口味并不是很好。Usadel先生表示，研究人员发现了野生和农田种植的西红柿的基因差异，这些差异影响着味道和气味。
“所以，即使这些野生西红柿确实没有更好的口感，这种西红柿品种让我们知道口感来自哪里。”
科学家们表示，这种图谱还有其它用途。他说，它能让科学家确保从野生西红柿发展而来的任何西红柿新品种不携带任何有毒基因。
以上就是今天的美国之音慢速英语农业报道。要了解更多农业报道，请登录我们的网站查看。我是凯蒂·韦弗。
