VOA慢速英语2014 Rare Minerals May Be in North Korea 稀有矿物质可能在朝鲜发现

Rare Minerals May Be in North Korea 稀有矿物质可能在朝鲜发现

Hello and welcome back.  I’m Jim Tedder 1 in Washington.  Today we are going to talk about something that is worth a lot of money, and it is buried in the ground.  We’re not exactly going on a treasure hunt, but I think you will have fun.

欢迎再次回来，我是来自华盛顿的吉姆·特德，今天我们要学习的内容价值不菲，而且深埋于地下。我们并不是要去寻宝，但是相信你们一定会喜欢的。

Then we will hear about a United Nations study about food.  We all know that there is a lot of hunger in the world.  The information we have today may change what you do with the food on your table.

我们会了解到一个来自联合国有关食物的研究课题。众所周知，世界上有很多人食不果腹，今天我们所讲述的内容也许会改变你对餐桌上食物的想法。

On your radio, or on your computer or smart phone …this is As It Is, a program to help you learn and improve your American English, from VOA.

通过收音机、电脑或者智能手机，你现在听到的就是As It Is，一档来自美国之音的节目，可以帮助各位听众的学习并提高英语水平。

Scientists say that a very large amount of something of great value may be hidden away in an unlikely place.  A recent study shows that the world’s largest source of rare earth elements may be in North Korea.  And, a company based in the British Virgin 2 Islands has signed a joint 3 agreement to look for those elements.  Observers say this could change the rare earths market and politics in Northeast Asia.  But they say this could happen only if North Korea is willing to make reforms.

科学家们说，在某个不起眼的地方，隐藏着大量某种具有重大价值的物质。最近研究表明朝鲜境内可能埋藏着地球上最丰富的稀土元素。并且一家总部位于英属维尔京群岛的公司也发表联合声明，同意探索这些稀有元素。观测人员说这次行动有可能改变稀土市场以及亚洲东北部的政治格局。但是他们也说，只有朝鲜愿意改革，这些才会发生。

A geological study shows that North Korea could hold some 216 million tons of rare earths.  These minerals are used in electronics like smart phones and high-definition televisions.  If the study proves true, the results would increase the known sources of rare earths in the world by 100 percent.

一份地理研究表明朝鲜境内蕴藏了2亿1千6百万吨的稀土元素。这些矿物质可以用于像智能手机和高清电视等电子行业。如果这份报告被证实是真的，将使地球上已知的稀土元素数量翻倍。

The private company SRE Minerals Limited announced results of the study in December.  The company also announced a 25-year deal to develop the deposits in Jongju, northwest of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

一间私人SRE矿产有限公司在12月份公开了研究结果。同时，他们也对外宣布了一项长达25年的协议来扩大他们在定州的储藏量，定州位于朝鲜首都平壤的西北部。

The joint project is called Pacific Century Rare Earth Mineral Limited.  It will work with the Korea Natural Resources Trading Corporation, owned by the North Korean government.

这项联合计划被称作太平洋世纪稀土矿物有限责任计划，这项工程将和朝鲜自然资源贸易公司合作，该公司归朝鲜政府所有。

Scott Bruce is with the East-West Center in Hawaii.  He says the deposits affect China’s hold on the market.  And he says they also could improve North Korea’s relations with Japan and South Korea.  Those countries are among the biggest importers of the minerals.

斯考特·布鲁斯在夏威夷的东西部中心。他说此次项目开采的矿物质含量将会影响中国在该市场中的占比。并且还提到这些能够改善朝鲜与日本及韩国的关系。这些国家都是矿物产品最大的几个进口国。

 “If North Korea was able to launch this program and develop its own industry it could potentially leverage 4 them to integrate with its neighbors and no longer be the black hole in the center of northeast Asia.”

“如果朝鲜有能力实施这项工程，并且加强工业水平，将会有足够的实力跟邻国和谐共处，也不会沦为亚洲东北部地区的黑洞。”

For years, North Korea’s mineral wealth has been estimated to be worth trillions of dollars.  The Jongju activity could be the first to use its rare earths.  But huge problems block the way. 

这么多年，朝鲜的矿藏估价上万亿美元。定州计划是第一个使用在稀土元素上的工程，其中自然也会遇到很多困难。

Companies doing business in North Korea must deal with a secretive government.  The country has poor roads and undependable energy supplies.  Such conditions would add to the difficulty of the expensive business of mining rare earths.  Even if the partners succeed in getting the minerals out of the ground, experts say limitations placed by the U.S. and the U.N. present problems.

所有想要在朝鲜开展商业活动的公司都必须与政府签订秘密协议。在朝鲜有很多贫瘠的道路，而且能源供应也不尽人意。这些客观条件都将增加开采稀土元素的花费，即使合作伙伴能够开采出矿产，专家说美国和联合国也会设限阻挠。

Mr. Bruce says foreign mining companies have to include these costs along with political threats in their planning.

布鲁斯先生说国外的矿业公司要承担他们计划中列出的包括政治威胁在内的所有费用。

“The last company that went in big in the North was of course South Korea during the Sunshine Policy.  And you had KORES, the Korean resource group that invested heavily in a few joint mineral projects in the North.”

“阳光政策实行期间，北部最后一家做的比较大的矿产公司毫无疑问是来自韩国，你们有电子公司，朝鲜的能源小组却在北部投资了大量金钱在一个小的联合矿产计划上。”

He says the group lost all news of what was happening in those mines when relations between the Koreas worsened.

他说，在韩国和朝鲜关系恶化的时候，该小组对于开采中发生的事情一点都不知情。

Pacific Century will build a rare earths processing center in Jongju.

太平洋世纪会在定州建立一个稀土处理中心。

North Korea’s working conditions include forced labor 5.  That could place foreign companies in danger of being charged with human rights abuses.  Pacific Century says it is an honest mining company with controls in place to make sure it honors international standards.

朝鲜的工作环境不太理想，会强制工人工作。这些会让那些外资企业处于一种比较危险的境地，他们可能会因践踏人权而被控告。太平洋世纪说他们是一家诚信的开采公司，在这方面会严格把关，来确保他们在国际中的形象地位。

Leonid Petrov is a Korean studies researcher at the Australian National Studies University’s College of Asia and the Pacific.  He says North Korea has no interest in reforming the economy to meet world regulations for foreign investment.

利奥尼德·佩德洛夫是澳大利亚国家研究大学亚洲及太平洋学院的一名研究朝鲜的学者。他说朝鲜没有兴趣改革经济来满足国外投资项目中所设置的条款。

“The two conditions of its survival, the constant crisis and the isolation 6 which are needed for the maintenance of the regime would be jeopardized 7.  Something like that already happened during the 10 years of Sunshine Policy, when South Korea-North Korea started trading, cooperating.  Some exchange was going on.  But soon they realized, for South Korea it was too expensive.  For North Korea, it was too dangerous.”

“该计划存在的限制有两个，持续性的危机和隔离状态。当韩国和朝鲜开始贸易往来的时候，阳光政策存在的十年中类似这样的事情已经发生了。某些交流仍在继续，但是他们很快就意识到，对于韩国来说，太贵了，而对于朝鲜来说，却太危险了。”

The U.S. Geological Survey says it does not have enough information to comment on the announcement of the finding of the elements in North Korea.

美国地理研究结果表明，并没有足够的资料来评论关于在朝鲜发现稀土元素的报告。

U.N. Says Much Food Is Wasted

联合国称大量食物被浪费

We all know that many people around the world go to bed hungry every night.  But did you know that that between 30 and 40 percent of the food in the United States and most wealthy countries is thrown away every year?  Christopher Cruise joins us with more.

我们都知道地球上有很多人都是饿着肚子睡觉的。但是你知道吗？在美国和大部分富裕的国家，每年都有30%至40%的食物被浪费了。克里斯托弗·克鲁斯更多的参与了。

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says more than a billion tons of food is wasted each year. Much of that waste happens in wealthy nations, but it happens in developing countries as well. Even as all this food is being wasted, it is estimated that one billion people are undernourished, and hundreds of millions of people go to sleep hungry each day.

联合国粮食和农业组织表示每年有超过10亿吨食物被浪费。大部分的浪费现象发生在比较富裕的国家，在一些发展中国家也存在。虽然这些食物被浪费掉，但是研究表明地球上却仍有10亿之多的人口，他们的身体处于营养不良的状态，每天都有好几百万人因为没有吃的而饿着肚子睡觉的。

Danielle Nierenberg is the co-founder and president of Food Tank, an organization that studies food issues.

丹尼尔·尼伦贝格是Food Tank 的联合创始人兼主席。Food Tank，是一个研究食物供应问题的组织。

“A lot of people in the world -- one out of eight people -- are hungry. And at the same time we have about 1.5 billion people who are obese 8. So, that excess has consequences not just on our waistlines, but on the environment, on food security and a whole range of other factors.”

“地球上很多人处于饥饿状态，每8个之中就有1个，但同时也有15亿的肥胖患者。这种营养过剩不仅是对于我们的腰围，还对环境、食品安全和很多其他方面产生影响。”

Ms. Nierenberg says much of the food waste in the developing world is caused by poor infrastructure 9, like bad roads and storage areas that are too small. In wealthy nations, people are to blame because they buy more than they can eat. Ms. Nierenberg also blames dates that are printed on food containers. These dates tell buyers and sellers what date the food should be sold or eaten by. She says these dates cause people to throw away food too soon.

尼伦贝格女士说，食物浪费现象发生在发展中国家跟这些国家落后的基础设施有关，比如，糟糕的道路环境和狭小的食物存储空间。在较富裕的国家，如果人们买的食物多于他们的胃能够承受的分量，会遭到众人的谴责。尼伦贝格女士还提出了对于食物容器上印刷的生产日期的不满。这些日期是在告诉买卖这些食物的人应该在什么时候购买以及什么时候该吃掉这些食物。她说，这些日期提醒了普通民众尽快扔掉这些食物。

VOA spoke 10 with Ms. Nierenberg when she was in Milan, Italy. She was attending the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition yearly meeting. Officials at the meeting released what they call the Milan Protocol 11. The document calls on international leaders and policymakers to improve food security.

尼伦贝格女士在意大利米兰的时候，美国之音的记者对她做了访问。她是在出席一年一度的百味食品和营养中心大会。大会官员发不了被他们称作是米兰协议的文件。该文件呼吁各国领导人和决策者携手加强食品安全。

“It not only focuses on food waste, but creating better and more- sustainable agriculture systems, as well as focusing on unhealthy lifestyles -- and really helping 12 reduce the epidemic 13 of obesity 14 and overweight that is plaguing not just rich countries, but poor countries as well.”

“不仅要关注食物浪费的问题，还要建立更好且可持续发展的农业系统，以及关注不健康的生活方式。真正意义上减少肥胖的盛行，肥胖问题不仅困扰着那些较富裕的国家，对于一些贫穷的国家也是头疼的问题。”

Ms. Nierenberg says the amount of food wasted each year shows there is already enough food to feed the planet.

“The problem of hunger in the world is not one of not having enough food. We produce more than enough food for every man, woman and child to eat every day. Yet, it’s political reasons. It’s poverty, certainly, that prevents food from getting to people who need it the most.”

“地球上的饥荒问题不仅仅是没有足够的食物。其实制造的食物足够每个人每天都吃的饱饱的，然而，由于国家自己的政治因素以及本身的贫穷问题，导致了那些最需要食物的人们不能填饱肚子。”

I’m Christopher Cruise.  And I’m Jim Tedder in Washington.  There are more Learning English programs straight ahead, and world news follows at the beginning of the hour on VOA.

我是克里斯托弗·克鲁斯。我是来自华盛顿的吉姆·特德。美国之音有大量英语学习节目，整点开始时还有世界新闻。