60秒科学:我们需要新的农业改革
Energy Secretary: We Need New Agriculture Revolution
In his CalTech commencement address on June 12, Nobel physicist 1 and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu called for a new agricultural revolution, led by scientists.
Here’s a clip from last week’s CalTech commencement address by Secretary of Energy and physics Nobel Laureate Steven Chu:
Most scientists are optimistic by nature...part of my optimism comes from the fact that science has come to our aid in the past. As an example, I remind you of the agricultural revolution that occurred in the last century. In 1898, in his inaugural 2 speech, Sir William Crookes, President of the Royal Society, began with the warning (attempts British accent) “England and all civilized 3 nations stand in deadly peril 4.” I tried (referring to accent).
Crop rotation 5 and manure 6 were not sufficient to replenish 7 the depleted 8 soils, and he predicted that the fertilizer based on South American bird guano—just in case you’re wondering, guano is the technical term for bird doo-doo—and Chilean sodium 9 nitrate would soon be exhausted 10. The solution Crookes proposed was to create artificial fertilizer. “It is the chemist,” he declared, “who must come to the rescue.”
In 1909, eleven years later, Fritz Haber demonstrated the catalytic synthesis of ammonia from air and hydrogen, a path unsuccessfully pursued by two distinguished 11 chemists and future Nobel Prize winners, Walther Nernst and Wilhelm Ostwald. For this achievement, Haber was awarded the 1918 Noble Prize for Chemistry. The production of fertilizer was considered so important that the industrialization of ammonia synthesis was recognized by a second Nobel Prize to Carl Bosch in 1931.
The second part of the agricultural revolution was led by Norman Borlaug, who got the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. He created hybrid 12 strains of wheat that increased the yield per acre four- to seven-fold in Mexico, India and Pakistan. Because of his work, the starvation of hundreds of millions of people was prevented.
Science and technology was the basis of the agricultural revolution, but current agricultural practices are not sustainable. And we need a second green revolution that will create perennial 13 plants for food, fiber 14 and energy, that fix their own nitrogen and draw precious nutrients 15 into their roots for the following year.
- He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
- The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。
- We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
- Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。
- Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
- rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为
- The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
- The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。
- Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
- The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。
- The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
- The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。
- I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
- We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。
- Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面，全城的钠光灯都亮了。
- Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。
- It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
- Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
- Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
- A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。
- That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
- The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。
- I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
- There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。
- The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
- The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。