評論
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United States
美國
Farming in the Midwest: Rhyme Time
中西部的農(nóng)業(yè)：重蹈覆轍？
How bad is this farm slump?
這次農(nóng)業(yè)危機(jī)有多嚴(yán)重？
The farm crisis in the 1980s left a deep mark on the Midwest.
上世紀(jì)八十年代發(fā)生的農(nóng)業(yè)危機(jī)給美國中西部留下了不可磨滅的烙印。
It was the worst downturn in farming since the Depression.
這是大蕭條期以來最為嚴(yán)重的農(nóng)業(yè)衰退。
After an unprecedented boom in demand for wheat ended, thousands of farmers faced ruin.
在前所未有的小麥黃金期結(jié)束后，成千上萬的農(nóng)民開始遭殃。
Agricultural banks and makers of farming equipment were washed away by a wave of bankruptcies.
農(nóng)業(yè)銀行和農(nóng)耕設(shè)備制造商被一波又一波的破產(chǎn)所拖垮。
Midwestern farmers look at parallels with the 1980s whenever their cyclical industry is heading downwards.
中西部的農(nóng)民開始把現(xiàn)在所遭遇的情況和上世紀(jì)八十年代所遭遇的周期性行業(yè)持續(xù)下滑進(jìn)行類比。
Prices for corn, wheat and other agricultural commodities started to fall after their peak in 2013, since when the comparison has been raised again.
在2013年玉米價格、小麥價格以及其他農(nóng)產(chǎn)品價格達(dá)到頂峰后，所有產(chǎn)品的價格開始下滑，就從此時起，歷史仿佛重演一般。
Exports of wheat and soyabeans nearly tripled in the 1970s, thanks to the weakness of the dollar after America abandoned the gold standard in 1971, and the Russian wheat deal in 1972, when America sold the Soviet Union about 440m bushels of wheat for around $700m.
在1971年美國廢除了金本位，同時于1972年結(jié)束了與前蘇聯(lián)每年約4.4億蒲式耳市值7億美元的小麥交易后，美元開始貶值，這促使了小麥和黃豆的出口量在70年代猛增三倍。
Until then the Soviets had imported hardly any American foodstuffs.
在那時之前，蘇聯(lián)幾乎沒有進(jìn)口過任何美國食品。
The sudden bonanza was such that farmers bought more and more land, with more and more debt.
農(nóng)民用貸款的方式購買了越來越多的土地，這帶來了出乎意料的好處。
This went well until interest rates jumped up, the dollar strengthened and exports to the USSR were halted after the invasion of Afghanistan.
在利率上升之前，這一切發(fā)展得很順利，美元開始變得強(qiáng)勢，在入侵阿富汗后，美國對前蘇聯(lián)的出口被禁止。
Farmers' biggest asset, land, dropped in value, which in turn increased their liabilities until they became so big that they could not stay in business.
農(nóng)民最寶貴的財富，也就是土地開始貶值，農(nóng)民的債務(wù)也相對增加了，最終債臺高筑不得不破產(chǎn)。
The latest farming boom started in 2006, when demand for crops such as maize (corn), sugar cane and soyabeans generated record profits thanks to demand for (maize and sugar-based) ethanol, and the then skyrocketing Chinese economy.
最近的農(nóng)業(yè)興起開始于2006年，此時對諸如玉米、甘蔗和大豆等農(nóng)作物的需求產(chǎn)生了巨額的利潤，這是因為人對由玉米和糖制造的乙醇需求增加以及中國經(jīng)濟(jì)的快速增長所帶來的影響。
譯文來源考研英語時事閱讀
