时间:2018-12-15 作者:英语课 分类:VOA慢速英语2007年(三)月


英语课

This the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.


It can be hard to decide which foods to buy in an American grocery store these days. The information on many products makes different claims. These labels suggest that the food is safe, pure or kind to animals.









 



The label "organic" guarantees that the United States Department of Agriculture recognizes the product was grown under special conditions. The department says foods that meet requirements of its National Organic Program can use an official label. It shows the words "USDA Organic" inside a circle.


For example, U.S.D.A. organic food does not contain genes 1 that have been scientifically changed. The food is grown without chemical treatments against insects or disease. It is grown without chemical fertilizers.


The U.S.D.A. organic label on meat and dairy products guarantees that they are from animals that live much of the time outdoors. The animals have been fed only organic food. The animals have not received antibiotic 2 drugs. And they have not had hormone 3 substances to make them grow bigger.


Organic meat and dairy products usually cost more than other products. But many people buy them because they believe they are more healthful.  


The U.S.D.A. is trying to decide if fish can be labeled "organic." A decision is not expected for many months. However, the Marine 4 Stewardship 5 Council says its label promises that fish are not endangered and were caught without harming the local ecosystem 6.


There are also labels on coffee. Some coffee growers plant their crops on land with no natural plants to provide shade from the sun. Other coffee is grown under trees that provide shade for the coffee and homes for birds. This coffee is labeled "Bird Friendly."  The Smithsonian Migratory 7 Bird Council of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., guarantees coffee with the "Bird Friendly" label.


Other food labels include "natural," "cage-free" and "free-range." Experts say it may be harder for the food buyer to decide what these mean.  For example, chickens may not have been raised in a cage. Still, they may have been in overcrowded conditions inside a building.


The Department of Agriculture will be holding meetings with food producers and the public to try to develop requirements for labels.


And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Transcripts 8 and audio files of our reports are on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.



1 genes
n.基因( gene的名词复数 )
  • You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因,所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪
2 antibiotic
adj.抗菌的;n.抗生素
  • The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
  • Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。
3 hormone
n.荷尔蒙,激素,内分泌
  • Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
  • This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
4 marine
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵
  • Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
  • When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
5 stewardship
n. n. 管理工作;管事人的职位及职责
  • The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认,这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
  • Last, but certainly not least, are the issues of stewardship and ethics. 最后,但当然不是微不足道的,是工作和道德规范的问题。
6 ecosystem
n.生态系统
  • This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
  • We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。
7 migratory
n.候鸟,迁移
  • Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
  • This does not negate the idea of migratory aptitude.这并没有否定迁移能力这一概念。
8 transcripts
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句
标签: voa 慢速英语
学英语单词
abnormal input
absorption rate of sulfur dioxide
acute abdomen
affrait
air-gunner
alternate work schedule
Amazonism
Asian Program of Educational Innovation for Development
Bacillus septicus acuminatus
ballast pump status-indicating system
barium chlorite
bomb crucible
box photometry
bugwort
Butrate
came over
carabobo
Caretta
chloral-caffeine
color-light signals
constant-deformation test
copris (paracopris) cariniceps
cumulative frequency table
diazo(nium) compound
dipsophobia
doctors of the church
drop bottom
drop-away
elevation tints
eufemias
excretings
F. E. R. C.
fish ladders
forsythiogenol
founding furnace
free aquifer
fuligo septica
Gamakoro
goulash communism
Great Northern War
guevaras
had an accident
hard problem
Hecht's tests
hydroelectric dam
industrial foil
infantile cerebral paralysis
initial examination and measurement
LAPES
Lavezares
Liebstadt
logoclonic
long fingers
long term spaceflight effect
long-term equity investments
mador
mahometanism
Mattan
middle age of stand
multi-head wood borer
Muramvya, Prov.de
natural circulation cooling system
non-liquid water
ogogoro
operating system program
orb weaver
organo-silicate coating
origin of life
oscillatory field
oshuns
Ottomanizing
oxy-welding
parakinesis
party-wall
pasajero
peakless pumping
pole mounting
policy improvement iteration
radar data processing center
reduced state diagram
register finder
relay output
resetting torque
retention of records
ribgrasses
roller-chain
rondon
sensitive instrument
signalling event
smid
soapstoning
spread loss covers
stilter
takeos
tendonitides
third order elastic constant
to have one foot in the grave
top-notchers
trill-key
Trizivir
unthreaded hole
woodrum