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American farmers again started to farm more land.
美國農民又一次開始大面積耕種。
They also used more yield-boosting technology—as did farmers in other parts of the world.
他們也使用了更多增加產量的科技，就像世界各地的農民所做的一樣。
A record 179m productive acres were brought in worldwide since 2006, says Dan Basse at AgResource, a research firm.
來自一家名為AgResource的研究公司的Dan Basse表示，自從2006年起，全世界賣出了創紀錄的17.9億畝的耕地。
Things started to turn sour after a year of record profits in 2013, when the rapidly growing global supply of grains outstripped demand, the appetite for ethanol stagnated and the Chinese economy slowed down.
在2013年利潤創下紀錄的一年之后，情況開始惡化，當時全球糧食供應急劇增長超過所需，對乙醇需求量大不如前，并且中國經濟增長放緩。
American net farm revenue dropped from $120 billion in 2013 to an estimated $62 billion this year.
美國農業凈收入從2013年的1200億美元預計下跌到今年的620億美元。
But unlike the previous big crisis, the balance-sheets of many farmers are robust.
但是，與之前危及不同的是，許多農民的收支平衡表依然穩健。
Moreover, interest rates are still low and demand remains steady even if it isn't growing much any more.
而且，利率依然很低并且人們對農產品需求依然穩定，即便沒有更多的增長。
And although the values for farmland dropped last year for only the second time since the 1980s, these drops were far less dramatic than they were back then: the value of land in Indiana, for instance, fell nearly 60% between 1981 and 1986.
盡管去年農田的價值發生了自八十年來以來的第二次下跌，但下跌幅度比起過去來看是微乎其微的，例如，在印第安納州的土地在1981年到1986年之間下滑了近乎60%。
“This boom was not as strong and we don't anticipate this crisis to be as severe as in the 1980s,” says Christopher Hurt at Indiana's Purdue University.
印第安納州普渡大學的Christopher Hurt表示，“這次的農業興起沒有之前的強勢，所以我們認為這次危機也不會像80年代那樣嚴重?！?/div>
Even so, farmers have reason to be anxious.
即便如此，農民們還是有擔心的理由。
The two things that matter most to them, weather and government policy, are unpredictable.
對農民們影響最大的兩件事，即天氣和政府政策，是不可預計的。
“Monkeying around with trade deals makes us nervous,” says Brent Gloy, who farms in south-western Nebraska.
來自內布拉斯加州西南部的農民Brent Gloy談到，“和貿易政策斗智斗勇讓我們很緊張?！?/div>
America exports 20% of its farm production; its top export markets are Canada, China and Mexico.
美國出口20%的農產品，其主要出口國包括加拿大、中國和墨西哥。
Populist politics were born in a Midwestern farm-crash at the end of the 19th century.
民粹主義政治誕生于第十九世紀末中西部的一場農業危機中。
That 21st-century populism should come along at the same time as an agricultural slump is further proof of what Mark Twain knew: history rhymes.
第二十一世紀的民粹主義應該同時出現，因為農業的蕭條進一步證明了Mark Twain所推崇的：歷史規律。
譯文來源考研英語時事閱讀
| 重點單詞 | 查看全部解釋 | |||
| severe | [si'viə] |
想一想再看 adj. 劇烈的，嚴重的，嚴峻的，嚴厲的，嚴格的 |
聯想記憶 | |
| appetite | ['æpitait] |
想一想再看 n. 嗜好，食欲，欲望 |
聯想記憶 | |
| global | ['gləubəl] |
想一想再看 adj. 全球性的，全世界的，球狀的，全局的 |
聯想記憶 | |
| previous | ['pri:vjəs] |
想一想再看 adj. 在 ... 之前，先，前，以前的 |
聯想記憶 | |
| productive | [prə'dʌktiv] |
想一想再看 adj. 能生產的，有生產價值的，多產的 |
聯想記憶 | |
| dramatic | [drə'mætik] |
想一想再看 adj. 戲劇性的，引人注目的，給人深刻印象的 |
聯想記憶 | |
| unpredictable | ['ʌnpri'diktəbl] |
想一想再看 adj. 不可預知的 |
聯想記憶 | |
| exquisite | ['ekskwizit] |
想一想再看 adj. 精挑細選的，精致的，細膩的，強烈的 |
聯想記憶 | |
| supply | [sə'plai] |
想一想再看 n. 補給，供給，供應，貯備 |
聯想記憶 | |
| boom | [bu:m] |
想一想再看 n. 繁榮，低沉聲，帆杠，水柵 |
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