中國網(wǎng)站品牌欄目（頻道）
英語學習論壇的“聽力練習區(qū)”正式與大家見面啦。歡迎大家來這里練習聽力，交流經(jīng)驗，共同進步。
本練習區(qū)的音頻文件選自英語點津的“聽中國日報”、“VOA常速”、“流行金曲”及“名人演講”等欄目，題材豐富，難度各異，適合不同階段的英語學習者。
英語點津會定期發(fā)布音頻材料，大家可以在跟帖中貼出自己聽寫出的音頻文字稿。每個音頻材料的標準文字稿會在帖子發(fā)布兩天后公布。
This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Spring is the time when farmers in Haiti plant about 60 percent of their crops. But this spring is a struggle with disaster.
The January 12th earthquake flattened much of Haiti's capital and surrounding areas. It left more than 200,000 people dead and about a million homeless.
International recovery plans include helping Haiti expand food production. But many farmers lost their tools in the quake. Landslides buried equipment.
And now seasonal rains do not make the situation any easier. The rains continue through May and June.
Many farmers need money for seeds and fertilizer. Sabine Wilke of the aid group CARE says many also lack the money to hire help to prepare the land.
SABINE WILKE: "For harvest and for the planting, they also need local labor. And since they do not have enough money to hire people, the work will simply not be done."
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says it has delivered tools and seeds to thousands of families in the earthquake area.
The quake was centered near Port-au-Prince. An estimated 600,000 people left for the countryside. Experts say it will be difficult to feed them. Food prices are high, and many people fled the capital with only the clothes they were wearing.
Gerald Murray at the University of Florida is an expert on Haiti. Professor Murray says many rural families have taken in relatives and friends who lost homes and jobs. "There may be enough to eat for a while," he says, "but before too long there may be hunger."
Farming is about 60 percent of Haiti's economy. But most food comes from imports.
Before the earthquake, the Haitian government and private groups were working to improve agriculture.
Deforestation has traditionally been a major problem for farmers. Few trees remain to protect soil from floods, droughts and severe storms.
In the 1600s Haiti's French colonizers cleared forests to plant sugar cane. In the 1950s, forests were cut down for wood and other products.
Poor technology and poor roads also reduced agricultural production. So did animal and plant diseases. Farmers moved to cities to do other work.
Professor Murray says the average farm in Haiti measures about one or one and a half hectares. And the fields are commonly divided between level ground and a mountainside.
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson with additional reporting by Steve Baragona. I'm Bob Doughty.
（來源：VOA 編輯：陳丹妮）
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