VOA标准英语2010年-Despite the Oil Spill, Louisiana Rice
时间：2019-01-13 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2010年(六)月
When rainfall is plentiful 1, rice grows into lush plants above the shallow water in which it's planted.
Since Louisiana leads the United States in the production of rice, a lot of people wonder whether the oil that has spread into the state's marshes 2 from the gushing 3 spill offshore 4 will threaten this year's crop.
So far, the answer is no. Even though some of Louisiana's quarter-million hectares of rice farms are located within shouting distance of bespoiled marshes, rice ponds rely on fresh water from wells and rainfall - not saltwater that, even without oil, would kill tender plants.
Looking at this harvester, you'd think this was a wheat field. It's rice, all right, gathered up in a wide pond that's been drained.
The ponds' earthen banks are also home to finger-sized shellfish called crawfish. And these mudbugs, as some call them, are about to become an even more important part of the region's seafood 5 platters now that shrimp 6, oyster 7, and crab 8 harvesting has been shut down in affected 9 areas of the Gulf 10 of Mexico.
From the air, much of South Louisiana still looks like a quilt dotted with picture frames. The frames are levees that hold in the water for paddies in which rice is grown. And it's from low-flying airplanes each spring that pilots sow the rice crop by tossing seeds from 900-kilo bags into the wind. The farmers call it flying the seeds.
Here's a single crawfish, or mudbug. It's considered a delicacy 11, both by Louisianans and their visitors and by the raccoons that steal them from traps in rice ponds.
In a dry spell, saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico can seep 12 into Louisiana's aquifers 13. So far, though, the oil hasn't reached very far inland, and saltwater has not seeped 14 into the farmers' wells.
A rich harvest is by no means assured, however.
Troublesome red rice shoots can appear amid the preferred white rice. Piglet-sized rats called nutria can gnaw 15 levee tunnels that drain entire rice fields overnight.
Blackbirds by the thousands can descend 16 and devour 17 newly dropped seeds. Raccoons can turn over traps and eat every crawfish inside. A drought can begin at any moment. And low prices brought on by foreign competition can make the whole enterprise unprofitable.
In short, the Gulf oil spill might be the least of Louisiana rice farmers' worries right now.
- Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
- Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。
- Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
- We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
- The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
- A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。
- There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
- Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。
- When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
- When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。
- I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
- I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。
- I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
- The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。
- She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
- His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
- The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
- There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。
- We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
- He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。
- My anger began to seep away.我的怒火开始消下去了。
- If meteoric water does not evaporate or run overland,it may seep directly into the ground.如果雨水不从陆地蒸发和流走的话，就可能直接渗入地下。
- And in Africa, the aquifers barely recharge at all. 非洲的地下水开采以后几乎得不到补充。 来自时文部分
- Aquifers have water contents over 30%. 含水层的水含过30％。 来自辞典例句
- The rain seeped through the roof. 雨水透过房顶渗透。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Icy air seeped in through the paper and the room became cold. 寒气透过了糊窗纸。屋里骤然冷起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
- Dogs like to gnaw on a bone.狗爱啃骨头。
- A rat can gnaw a hole through wood.老鼠能啃穿木头。
- I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
- We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。