(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.
Americans love Christmas trees. The National Christmas Tree Association says more than 35 million of them were bought last year in the United States.
In large American cities, many people buy trees that have already been cut. But many people drive to a tree farm and cut them own tree. Some buy one from a catalogue or online, the tree is then delivered to their home.
Michelle Obama with daughters Sasha and Malia and family dog Bo welcomes the arrival of the official White House Christmas tree, a 19-foot Fraser Fir from Jefferson, N.C., Nov. 23, 2012.
The National Christmas Tree Association represents growers and sellers of most of the farm-grown Christmas tress in the United States. It estimated that 10.9 million artificial trees were sold in 2012, compared to 24.5 million natural trees.
The group says the average cost of a natural tree was $40, and about $70 for an artificial one.
Most Christmas trees are now grown on farms. The trees take six to ten years to grow. In some states, fewer than half of the planted trees survived the weather conditions to become Christmas trees.
To make sure there is always a supply, farmers usually plant one to three new saplings for every tree they cut down.
The Christmas Tree Association says 40 percent of people who bought natural trees last year chose them at a farm and cut the tree themselves. The Association says real trees are better for the environment, that is because as Christmas trees grow, they collect carbon dioxide and other gases while supplying fresh oxygen. The trees also protect water supplies.
Christmas trees are grown on soil that does not support other crops. Some people throw away their natural tree when the holiday season ends. But many People recycle them. There are many ways to do this.
Christmas trees can be cut up to be used as fertilizer. They can also be cut and used to provent the wearing down of soil. Christmas trees helped many communities near the ocean following tropical Storm Sandy on the eastern coast of the United States. They were placed near large hills of sand to prevent the sand from blowing away.
Artificia trees which come mostly from China can be reused for years. Families use them for an average of six to nine years before throwing them away. These trees can remain in a landfill for hundreds of years.
And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Special English. 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.artificial adj. 人造的；仿造的；虚伪的；非原产地的；武断的
The city is dotted with small lakes, natural and artificial.
这座城市满是天然和人造的小湖泊。
2.sapling n. 树苗；年轻人
The sapling has grown into a big tree after five years.
五年过去了，小树苗长成了一颗大树。
3.fertilizer n. [肥料] 肥料；受精媒介物；促进发展者
The tractor hauled the fertilizer away.
拖拉机把肥料拉走了。
4.landfill n. 垃圾填埋地；垃圾堆
The rubbish in modern landfills does not rot.
现代垃圾填埋场里的垃圾不会腐烂。
内容解析
1.They can also be cut and used to provent the wearing down of soil.
wear down 磨损；使疲劳；使厌烦；损耗；由于坚持而克服…的反对，逐渐克服；说服
Pipe smokers sometimes wear down the tips of their teeth where they grip their pipes.
抽烟斗的人用牙齿咬住烟斗，有时会把牙齿尖磨平。
The heels on his shoes had worn down.
他鞋子的后跟磨平了。
None can match your sheer will-power and persistence in wearing down the opposition.
在消磨反对派的意志方面，没有人能比得上你那惊人的毅力和恒心。
They hoped the waiting and the uncertainty would wear down my resistance.
他们希望这种等待和不确定性会削弱我的抵抗。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
美国人喜爱圣诞树，全国圣诞树协会称去年美国人购买了3500万棵树。
在美国各大城市，许多人购买已经砍下来的树。但许多人开车去农场自己砍树，也有人从商品目录或在线购买，然后就有圣诞树送到家门口。
全国圣诞树协会代表着美国大部分农场圣诞树的种植者和购买者，该协会估计2012年售出1090万棵人造树，以及2450棵真树。
该组织称一棵真树的平均成本是40美元，人造树的成本是70美元。
大多数圣诞树是在农场种植的，需要生长6到10年。在有的州，不到一半的种植树能熬过那里的天气环境成为圣诞树。
为了确保圣诞树的供应，农场主每砍下一棵树，就会种上一到三棵小树苗。
圣诞树协会称去年购买真树的人中有40%的人选择在农场自己砍树，协会称真树更有益于环境，因为随着圣诞树的成长，它们会吸收二氧化碳和其他气体，并释放出新鲜的氧气。树木还能保护水资源供应。
圣诞树生长的土壤不能支持其他作物的生长，有的人在节日过后就扔掉真树，但许多人会回收，回收的办法有很多。
可以将圣诞树砍碎作为肥料，可以砍下来用作预防土壤销蚀。在桑迪飓风袭击美国东海岸时，圣诞树帮助许多临海社区防范风暴。将圣诞树放在大沙堆附近防止沙子被吹走。
大多数人造树来自中国，可以反复使用多年。一般人家会在使用6到9年后扔掉，这些树在垃圾堆几百年仍不腐烂。
这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道农业报道，我是克里斯多夫·克鲁斯。
