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【US Drought Renews Debate on Biofuel】
This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
American officials have sharply reduced their expectations for this year's corn and soybean crops. Farmers in the Midwest are struggling with record heat and the worst drought in many years.
美国官员已经大幅降低他们对今年玉米和大豆作物的期望。中西部的农民正努力与创纪录的高温和多年来最为严重的旱灾作斗争。
The United States is the world's largest producer of corn and soybeans. Last Friday the Agriculture Department predicted that corn production would total 10.8 billion bushels this year. That was down seventeen percent from a prediction made just a month ago. And it was down thirteen percent from last year's level. The average yield per hectare could be the lowest in seventeen years.
美国是世界上最大的玉米和大豆生产国。上周五，农业部预计今年的玉米产量将达到108亿蒲式耳。这与仅仅一个月前的预测相比下降了17%。与去年的产量水平相比下降了13%。每公顷产量可能是17年以来最低的。
At the same time, the government predicted that soybean production would be twelve percent lower than last year.
同时，政府预计大豆产量将比去年低12%。
The price of maize, which Americans call corn, has hit record levels. Corn is a major part of animal feed, so the price of meat, milk and eggs is also expected to climb.
玉米价格已经达到了创纪录的水平。玉米是动物饲料的主要组成部分，因此，肉类、牛奶和鸡蛋价格也有望攀升。
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says average food prices worldwide rose six percent in July. The American drought was a big reason. Gawain Kripke is a food price expert with the anti-hunger group Oxfam America.
联合国粮食及农业组织称，7月份全球平均食品价格上涨了6%，美国的干旱是一个很大的原因。Gawain Kripke是反饥饿组织美国乐施会的一名食品价格专家。
GAWAIN KRIPKE: "Because the U.S. is such a massive food producer and food exporter, the impacts of a drought in the United States are likely to trickle out all around the world."
GAWAIN KRIPKE：“因为美国是如此庞大的一个粮食生产与出口国，美国干旱的影响可能会渗透到世界各地。”
The situation has renewed the fight between food and fuel. About forty percent of the nation's corn crop goes into making ethanol. The production process leaves some of that in a form that can be fed to animals. Still, at least one-fourth of the American corn crop is now made into fuel.
这一形势已经恢复食品与燃料之间的斗争。美国约有40%的玉米产量被用于制造乙醇。生产过程会剩下一些可供喂养动物的东西。尽管如此，至少有四分之一的美国玉米产量如今被制成了燃料。
The United States requires that part of its corn crop be used in the production of biofuels. The use of ethanol has grown as government requirements have increased. But the head of the FAO, writing in the Financial Times, called for "an immediate, temporary suspension" of that requirement. Jose Graziano da Silva said more of the American corn production could then be used as food or to feed animals.
美国要求这一部分玉米产量用于生产生物燃料。使用乙醇已成为政府强制要求并有所增强。但粮农组织的负责人Jose Graziano da Silva在《金融时报》发文呼吁“立即暂时中止”这一要求。Jose Graziano da Silva称，这样更多美国的玉米产量就能用于食品或动物饲料。
The American livestock industry is also urging Congress to suspend the law that requires ethanol in gasoline. But corn farmer Alan Bennett says doing that would hurt his town.
美国畜牧业也督促国会暂停要求在汽油中添加乙醇的法律。但种玉米农民Alan Bennett称，这样做会伤害他所在的镇子。
ALAN BENNETT: "It could bankrupt the ethanol plant. It is a huge deal. This country relies on ethanol for ten percent of its fuel supply. Ethanol is good for America."
ALAN BENNETT：“这可能会破产乙醇工厂。这是件大事。该国10%的燃料供应依靠乙醇。乙醇对美国有利。”
A two thousand five law requires automobile fuel to contain ethanol. The growth of the ethanol industry and competition for corn have been helping parts of rural America that had been shrinking for years.
2005年颁布的一项法律要求汽车燃料中含有乙醇。乙醇行业的增长及其对玉米的竞争对此前多年来一直萎缩的部分美国农村地区有所帮助。
