(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.
The World Food Prize has been awarded to three developers of genetically modified crops, or GMOs. Mary-Dell Chilton, Marc van Montagu and Rob Fraley received the award on October 17th.
The award praises the technology they created for being able to increase the quantity and availability of food, it also says GMOs help deal with a growing world population and changes in weather patterns. But the selection of the three scientists has been criticized by people who question the safety and value of GMOs.
In the 1970s, Marc van Montagu, a Belgian scientist discovered bacteria in soil performing a kind of natural genetic engineering. He found that the bacteria placed a piece of their genetic material, or DNA inside the plant cells, the cells then produce chemicals that work good for the bacteria.
"Once we [saw] bacteria can insert DNA to give a new property to a plant, we were able to replace that part of the DNA [with] DNA that we want that gives new, useful properties to the plant," van Montagu said.
His work was the beginning of plant biotechnology. Mary-Dell Chilton and Rob Fraley both Americans, produced the first genetically modified plants using that technology.
Ms Chilton was studying a common plant infection called crown gall when she witnessed the same thing as Mr van Montagu. She discovered that it forms when a germ called Agrobacterium puts a piece of its own DNA into the plant cell's genes, the plant then makes food for the bacteria.
Ms Chilton, Mr van Montagu and Mr Fraley along with the Monsanto company created the technology to reproduce plants while changing their DNA.
Genetic engineering can add information to plants to produce different kinds of things, such as a protein that kills insects. Farmers quickly accepted and supported the new technology first used in 1996. Nearly all the corn and cotton grown in the United States is made with GMOs.
The World Food Prize organization in the American state of IOWA says 17 million farmers worldwide grew GMO crops in 2012. It says the technology increased production and reduced the usage of harmful chemical on crops.
Doug Gurian-Sherman is a scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists. He says the technology could be useful, but as there is no proof it is necessary to feed the world.
"My understanding of the prize is you should be giving it to people that have shown major positive, unequivocally positive accomplishments in world agriculture. And I don't see, so far, this technology being anywhere near that yet," Gurian-Sherman said.
Opposition to GMOs is also spreading. In the Philippines, protesters destroyed test fields of rice that had been genetically engineered to produce vitamin A.
And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Learning English. I'm Christopher Cruise.
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.genetically modified 转基因的
Top supermarkets are to ban many genetically modified foods.
顶级的超市将禁止销售许多转基因的食品。
2.properties n. 性能；道具，内容（property的复数形式）
A radio signal has both electrical and magnetic properties.
无线电信号既具有电的特性也具有磁的特性。
3.usage n. 使用；用法；惯例
He was a stickler for the correct usage of English.
他是一个坚持英语的正确使用的人。
4.unequivocally adv. 明确地
She stated her intentions unequivocally.
她明白地说出了她的意图。
内容解析
1.Nearly all the corn and cotton grown in the United States is made with GMOs.
make with 作出；产生；谈妥
The preparations were made with Teutonic thoroughness.
各项准备工作均以日耳曼人缜密的精神完成。
She made with the tears and tried to win everyone's sympathy.
她挤出几滴眼泪,企图以此来赢得大家的同情。
Egg mayonnaise is made with mayonnaise and hard - boiled eggs.
鸡蛋美乃滋是用蛋黄酱和煮老的鸡蛋做成的。
Their groundless accusation is made with ulterior motives.
他们的无端攻击是别有用心的。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
世界粮食奖被授予给三名转基因作物(GMOs)的开发者，玛丽-戴尔·克林顿、马克-孟塔古和罗伯·佛瑞里10月7日获得此奖。
此奖表彰了他们开发的能增加粮食产量和可用性的科技，称GMOs帮助解决日益增长的世界人口和气候改变模式。但对三名科学家的挑选却遭到那些质疑转基因作物安全性和价值的人们的批评。
20世纪70年代，比利时科学家马克-孟塔古在土壤中发现一种进行天然的基因工程的细菌。他发现这种细菌将少量基因物质诸如植物细胞内，细胞就能制造出对细菌有益的化学物质。
“一旦我们发现细菌能将DNA注入植物并赋予植物以新性能，我们就能将这部分DNA替换为我们想要的新的、对植物有益的属性。”
他的工作是植物生物科技的开始，玛丽-戴尔·克林顿和罗伯·佛瑞里都是美国人，他们使用这项技术开发出首个转基因作物。
克林顿当时在研究一种名叫冠瘿病的常见植物感染，这时她和孟塔古发现了同样的新东西。她发现一种被称为根癌农杆菌的细菌将其自身DNA注入植物细胞基因后，这种植物就能为细菌提供养分。
克林顿、孟塔古和佛瑞里和孟山都公司一起开发出这种通过改变DNA来繁殖植物的科技。
基因工程能给植物增加信息来生产不同的东西，比如一种能杀死害虫的蛋白质。农民们很快就接收这种技术，并于1996年支持新技术的首次使用。美国几乎所有的玉米和棉花都是转基因作物。
美国爱荷华州的世界粮食奖组织称2012年全世界有1700万农民种植转基因作物，称这项技术增加了产量，并减少了对作物有害的化学物质的使用。
道格·格里安 - 谢尔曼是科学家关怀联盟的一名科学家，他说这项技术可能有用，但并没有证据表明它对养活全世界有必要。
“我觉得这个奖项应该授予那些对全世界农业产生重大积极贡献的人，到目前为止，我还不认为这种技术能满足这个要求。”
反转基因的声势也在渐长，在菲律宾，抗议者毁掉了通过转基因工程生产维生素A的水稻试验田。
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道，我是克里斯多夫·克鲁斯。
