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VOA常速英語:Smithsonian Folklife Festival Showcases Vanishing Languages

所屬教程:2013年07月VOA常速英語

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Brandon Goldner

July 05,2013

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Smithsonian Institution reports that more than 2,500 world languages will disappear by the end of this century. That is why the world’s largest museum and research complex dedicated part of its annual folklife festival to shine a light on these languages.

As soon as she heard the music, festival goer Patricia Joseph knew she had to dance.

"I always felt like dancing when I heard this kind of music, and I always felt restrained. But this was so liberating. This is such an unusual venue that we’re going to spend most of the day here,” said Joseph.

The song is unusual, too, It’s sung in a language that is slowly disappearing.

It's all part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, an annual celebration of world cultures on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

One focus this year is on some of languages from around the globe that are expected to vanish. The different language representatives used a variety of art forms to express their native tongues. This includes the fast-paced music of the Quechua language from South America, the throat singing of the Tuvan language in Siberia, and the iconic dancing of the Hawaiian language.

Aaron Sala is one of the musicians for the disappearing Hawaiian language. "It’s a great experience to be with other cultures who are working to preserve and to ensure the survival and thriving of their languages," he said.

Representatives of these cultures, however, aren’t merely working to stimulate the auditory senses. Besides music, the festival has many authentic cultural artifacts, like a Colombian rice grinder.

Maryland native Elisabeth Ostler said this festival, with its artifacts and music, allows Americans like herself to learn about the different cultures around the world.

"Generally speaking, we’re pretty isolated to different cultures. There’s so much to be appreciated and experienced," she said.

Ostler hopes young people like her seven children will be inspired by the festival, and will want to make a difference in the world.


From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語經(jīng)濟報道。

The United Nations is warning that the world is not prepared to deal with the fast growth of cities. The World Economic and Social Survey 2013 calls for new ways to meet the needs of city populations. More than 6.5 billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2050.

聯(lián)合國警告說,全球尚未做好準備應對城市的快速增長。2013年《世界經(jīng)濟和社會概覽》要求尋找新的辦法滿足城市人口的需求。預計到2050年將有超過65億人居住在城市。

Most new city dwellers will be in developing countries. The United Nations says the effect on limited resources in many countries will be huge. The World Economic and Social Survey points to the increasing demand for energy, water, sanitation, public services, education and health care.

多數(shù)的城市新居民將來自發(fā)展中國家。聯(lián)合國表示,這將對許多國家有限資源的產(chǎn)生巨大的影響?!妒澜缃?jīng)濟和社會概覽》指出,全球對能源、水、衛(wèi)生、公共服務、教育和保健的需求不斷增長。

The world population is expected to rise to more than nine billion by 2050, two-thirds of all people are expected to live in cities. The United Nations says about 80 percent of this growing urban population will be found in Africa and Asia.

到2050年,全球人口有望超過90億。三分之二的人口預計將居住在城市。聯(lián)合國表示,80%的城市人口增長將會來自非洲和亞洲。

The report says sustainable development of urban areas requires coordination and investments to deal with important issues, these include land-use, food security, job creation and transportation.

該報告聲稱,城市地區(qū)的可持續(xù)發(fā)展需要協(xié)調(diào)和投資以處理很多重要問題,這些問題包括土地利用、糧食安全、創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機會,以及交通運輸。

Willem Van Der Geest is with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, he says cities need to work closely with rural communities, so that food supplies can be secured, and the environment can be protected.

Willem Van Der Geest就職于聯(lián)合國經(jīng)濟和社會事務部,他表示,城市需要和農(nóng)村社區(qū)緊密合作,這樣就能保證糧食供應,并保護環(huán)境。

"We need sufficient integration with cities... An integration between the rural and urban economies is absolutely vital for issues of nutrition, food security, and environmental sustainability."

他說,“我們需要充分整合城市。。。農(nóng)村和城市之間經(jīng)濟的整合對營養(yǎng)、食品安全和環(huán)境可持續(xù)問題都極其重要。”

The report says development in a sustainable way is important to ending poverty. The report also examines the problem of food insecurity, which affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. One in eight people are still chronically undernourished.

該報告聲稱,以可持續(xù)的方式發(fā)展對消除貧困非常重要。報告還探討了糧食不安全問題,該問題影響著全球數(shù)以百萬人。全球1/8的人口仍然長期營養(yǎng)不良。

UN officials says somethings are clear. The Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Shamshad Akhtar, says world food production will have to increase by 70%, that increase will be needed to feed the additional 2.3 billion people expected on the planet by the middle of the century. She says an important part of meeting that need is to waste less food.

聯(lián)合國官員表示,有些問題非常明確。沙姆沙德·阿赫塔爾(Shamshad Akhtar)是聯(lián)合國負責經(jīng)濟發(fā)展的助理秘書長。她表示,為了養(yǎng)活到本世紀中葉地球上新增的23億人口,全球糧食產(chǎn)量需要提高70%。她表示,滿足這一需求的一個重要部分就是減少食物浪費。

"There has to be efforts to reduce food wastage. Changes will have to take place in the food chain-production, storage, transportation and consumption."

她說,“我們必須努力減少食物浪費。在食物鏈的生產(chǎn)、儲存、運輸和消費環(huán)節(jié)必須有所改變。”

Food and nutrition security are core elements of the sustainable development agenda.

食品和營養(yǎng)安全都是可持續(xù)發(fā)展議程的核心要素。

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