2007年VOA标准英语-Rising Oil Prices Fuel Corn Tortilla Price Hike
时间:2019-01-31 作者:英语课 分类:2007年VOA标准英语(三月)
Washington
20 March 2007
Rising world oil prices have sparked interest in alternative fuels, such as ethanol, which can be produced from corn. This has raised demand for the grain, which, in turn, has increased its price as food. VOA's Peter Fedynsky reports that higher prices may not be the only cost associated with corn-based ethanol.
People march in Mexico City to protest recent tortilla price increases, 31 Jan 2007
In January, demonstrators in Mexico converged 1 on the capital to protest the spiraling cost of tortillas, a Mexican national staple 2 made from corn. In response, the country's president, Felipe Calderon, signed an agreement to stabilize 3 tortilla prices.
President Calderon says the 13-point agreement is aimed at protecting Mexican families and the economy from further price hikes on corn.
Mexican tortilla prices have skyrocketed more than 700 percent since 1994. Experts say this is due in part to increased demand for corn to produce ethanol.
Speaking at a recent Capitol Hill news conference in Washington Daniel De La Torre Ugarte, from the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center at the University of Tennessee, warned that price hikes are but one effect of rising demand for corn. He says it can have consequences for agriculture as well.
"Not only because it jeopardizes 4 food security in many countries, but because, at the same time, it also creates a new incentive 5 to expand production to areas that may not be suitable for the crop," said Daniel De La Torre Ugarte. "So, we are going to put undue 6 pressure on natural resources to try to respond with a larger production for corn."
Ugarte is not opposed to bio-fuels as such. Nor is Alexandra Spieldoch, from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minneapolis, Minnesota. But Spieldoch warns of the consequences of over-reliance on a single crop.
"Corn mono-cropping is already eroding 7 U.S. farmland," said Alexandra Spieldoch. "It's water intensive. It increases the amounts of herbicides. It's not considered viable 8 in the long term."
Spieldoch adds, corn prices are not driven by ethanol alone. She says the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, as well as U.S. farm subsidies 9 have forced Mexico - a traditional corn exporter - to import the commodity from the United States.
Former Mexican congressman 10 Victor Quintana says NAFTA has favored corporate 11 agribusiness at the expense of poor Mexican farmers, who then seek a better living across the border.
Quintana says that, for each 30-ton container of corn exported to Mexico, the United States receives two undocumented migrants from the Mexican countryside.
Philip Levy 12, a former member of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers 13 and currently a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, acknowledges the displacement 14 of many Mexican farmers. But he says free trade has helped Mexico as a whole.
"When you're talking about what's good or bad for a country in trade, you have to be careful, and we're seeing this in Mexico right now," he said. "If you are a producer of corn, no matter what the cause, high corn prices are welcome. You want it. If you are a consumer of corn, high corn prices are bad. And you don't want it."
Levy says the demand for ethanol could become so high that no American corn will be exported. This, he says, will encourage Mexican corn production to meet the demand for tortillas, so that, in the end, free trade will provide consumers with food and fuel. And Philip Levy agrees with critics who caution that the rush toward ethanol must not come at the expense of the environment.
- Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
- People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
- Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。
- They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
- His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。
- If your reckless behavior jeopardizes this mission, you're out! 如果你不注意你的言行,会危及到这次任务你也会被开除!
- Factionalism now seriously jeopardizes our overall interest. 现在闹派性已经严重地妨害我们的大局。
- Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中,钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
- He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。
- Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
- It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。
- The coast is slowly eroding. 海岸正慢慢地被侵蚀。
- Another new development is eroding the age-old stereotype of the male warrior. 另一个新现象是,久已形成的男人皆武士的形象正逐渐消失。
- The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
- The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。
- European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
- Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
- The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。
- This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
- His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。
- They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
- A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。
- a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
- She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。
- They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
- The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。