(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is Agriculture Report.
People have been illegally transporting, or smuggling, cocoa beans between Ivory Coast and neighboring Ghana for many years. Ivorian growers smuggled their cocoa beans into Ghana because prices were higher and more dependable there.
But that changed. The Ghanaian currency, or money has lost value recently. And Ivory Coast has become more secure, following a period of unrest. Now, Ghanaian farmers are smuggling their beans into Ivory Coast, where they get more money for them.
The government in Ivory Coast has set a price for cocoa beans. It wants to make sure the Ivorian cocoa farmers make enough money from their crops to keep the beans in the country.
At the same time, Ghana's money has dropped in value against the dollar by more than 40 percent. This has caused a loss of profits for the country's cocoa growers. They can make more money if they smuggle their crop to Ivory Coast.
Alfred Allotey is a cocoa storage manager for a company called PBC Limited.
"The farmers are compelled to give most of their produce to the buyers from Ivory Coast so they can get enough money for their children; it is not that they are willing. But it is the situation that is compelling them to do so," said Allotey.
Ghanaian farmers who do not send their cocoa beans to Ivory Coast are urging the government to stop competing farmers from doing so.
James is one of those farmers pressuring the government to stop the smuggling.
"Ghana is our country. We use the cocoa to pay our men, to build our hospitals and all kinds of roads. If we don't stop them, our country is going to go down," said James.
One way to slow the smuggling would be to increase the price of cocoa in Ghana. But Ghana has a budget deficit so it does not have the money to support such a move.
As long as buyers in Ivory Coast will pay more for Ghana's higher quality beans, the smuggling is likely to continue. And some Ivorians say nothing is wrong with that trade.
Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer and exporter of the cocoa bean. These beans are needed to make chocolate. Ivory Coast, Ghana and other West African countries together produce more than 65 percent of the world's cocoa crops.
Industry experts estimate that up to 100,000 tons of beans have been smuggled into the Ivory Coast from Ghana since last October. Industry officials say they will meet to talk about how the two countries can work together to fight the smuggling.
And that's the VOA Learning English Agriculture Report. 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.smuggle vt. 走私；偷运 vi. 走私，私运；偷带
Police have foiled an attempt to smuggle a bomb into Belfast airport.
警方挫败了一个将炸弹偷带进贝尔法斯特机场的企图。
2.compel vt. 强迫，迫使；强使发生
Can they compel obedience from us?
他们能迫使我们屈服吗?
内容解析
1.If we don't stop them, our country is going to go down,
go down (价格、水平或数量等) 下降；引起…反响；(船只) 沉没; (飞机) 坠毁；出故障
The main computers went down for 30 minutes.
这些主要计算机出了30分钟的故障。
Lawyers advised their clients that a neat appearance went down well with the judges.
律师们向其当事人们建议说，整洁的外表会赢得法官们的好感。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
多年来一直有人在科特迪瓦和邻国加纳之间非法运输或走私可可豆，科特迪瓦农民之所以走私可可豆到加纳，是因为可可豆在加纳更贵，而且更可靠。
但这一现状已经改变了，加纳货币最近贬值了，而科特迪瓦在经历一段时间动乱后变得更安全。现在，加纳农民们将可可豆走私到科特迪瓦，在那里可以赚到更多钱。
科特迪瓦政府为可可豆制定了价格，希望确保科特迪瓦可可农民能挣足够的钱，从而将可可豆留在本国。
同时，加纳货币对美元的汇率下降了40%以上，这样该国的可可种植者就损失很严重，如果他们能将可可豆运往科特迪瓦，就能挣到更多钱。
阿尔弗雷德·阿洛太是PBC有限公司的可可储存经理。
“农民们被迫将大部分可可卖给科特迪瓦的买家，这样就能给孩子攒足够的钱，他们不愿意这么做，但现状迫使他们这么做。”
不想把可可豆卖到科特迪瓦的加纳农民们敦促政府阻止农民的走私行为。
詹姆斯就是劝说政府阻止走私的农民之一。
“加纳是我们的国家，我们用可可养活自己，建造医院和各种道路。如果我们不阻止他们，我们国家就要崩溃。”
缓解走私的一个办法是提高加纳可可的价格，但加纳出现预算赤字，所以没有资金来支持这一措施。
只要科特迪瓦的买家愿意付更多钱来购买加纳的高品质可可豆，那么走私还可能要持续下去。有的科特迪瓦人说这种交易没有什么不对的。
科特迪瓦是全世界最大的可可豆生产国和出口国，这些豆子用来制作巧克力。科特迪瓦、加纳等西非国家生产的可可豆占全世界的65%以上。
行业专家估计自去年10月以来，已有10万吨以上的可可豆被从加纳走私到科特迪瓦，行业官方称将会谈商讨两国如何合作来对付走私问题。
这就是美国之音慢速英语农业报道，我是凯蒂·韦弗。
