VOA慢速英语:Teaching Rural Farmers With Cell Phone Videos

Mobile phones are an important business tool for farmers in rural areas. But they also put a valuable educational tool in their hands.
在农村地区，手机是农民一种重要的业务工具。但是也他们手中很宝贵的教育工具放。

The University of Illinois in the United States has a project called SAWBO -- Scientific Animations Without Borders. It produces educational videos that can be downloaded to cell phones. The goal is to help people in developing countries improve their lives.
美国伊利诺伊大学有一个叫做SAWBO——科学动漫无国界的项目。它制作一些可以下载到手机上的教育视频。目的是帮助发展中国家的人民改善生活。

One video shows farmers how to make a natural insecticide from neem seeds to prevent insect damage to crops. The process starts with sorting and drying the neem fruits, as explained in this version with a Nigerian narrator.
一个视频给农民们演示由印度楝树的种子制成的天然杀虫剂如何预防昆虫对农作物的危害。这一过程从印度楝树果实的分类和干燥开始，这就像尼日利亚解说员描述中所解释那样。

WOMAN: "Let the fruit dry in the sun for about three or four days, until they become brown. Using a mortar and pestle, the fruits are slightly pounded to remove the shells from the fruits without breaking the seed inside."
女人：“让果实在太阳底下晒3到4天，直到它们变成褐色。用研钵和杵将果实轻轻捣碎，以便除掉果壳而不损坏里面的种子。

The videos use computer animation. Some of the animated characters are a little funny looking -- like a farmer with a long nose. But the subjects are serious, including a health video on preventing cholera.
这些视频利用电脑动画制作。一些动漫人物看起来很有趣——如一个长着长鼻子的农民。但是主题是严肃的，包括一个预防霍乱的健康视频。

Team member Francisco Seufferheld says the information in the videos is meant to be quickly understood.
小组成员Francisco Seufferheld称，视频上的信息就是要让农民能够很快理解。

FRANCISCO SEUFFERHELD: "The information is digested in such a way that in two minutes, we can transmit a complex idea."
Francisco Seufferheld：“这些信息以这种方式表达，人们只需两分钟就能理解，我们就能利用这种方式传播复杂的内容。”

The team has made a few videos so far. These are available in a total of eighty languages, dialects and accents. Professor Barry Pittendrigh says there are plans for more videos later this year.
目前，这个小组已经制作了一些视频。这些视频总共可提供80种语言，方言和口音。Barry Pittendrigh教授称今年年底计划制作更多视频。

Purdue University in Indiana is using videos to promote a project in Africa called PICS, Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage. The aim is to get farmers to use special bags to keep air and bugs out of their cowpea harvests.
印第安纳州普渡大学在非洲使用视频发起一个叫做PICS项目——普渡大学改善豇豆储藏项目。目的是在豇豆收获时期，促使农民使用特殊的塑料袋防止空气和虫子进入豇豆中。

The Purdue researchers have produced their videos in different countries in Africa. Crop scientist Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer says this helps local farmers relate to them.
普渡大学的研究人员在非洲不同国家已经制作了视频。作物科学家Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer称这样帮助了遇到此类问题的当地农民。

The researchers did an experiment in Niger with a video showing how to close the bags. Professor Lowenberg-DeBoer says the process is not difficult to do, just difficult to describe.
研究人员在尼日尔做了一个视频实验，展示如何密封这些袋子。Lowenberg-DeBoer教授称这一过程并不困难，只是很难描述。

JESS LOWENBERG-DeBOER: "Closing the bags is something that, if you see it, you will understand it very quickly. And most people do. But explaining it in words is quite difficult."
Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer：“密封这些袋子就是这样，如果你看到，就会很快明白的。而且大多数人的确是这样。但是用词语来解释就非常困难。”

The researchers tested the seven-minute video on seven mobile phones. They wanted to see if people would share the video using Bluetooth wireless technology. With Bluetooth, files can be passed to a nearby phone even if neither phone is connected to the Internet.
研究人员在7部手机上测试这个7分钟的视频。他们想看看人们是否通过无线蓝牙分享这个视频。通过蓝牙，即使两部手机都没有连接上互联网，文件也可以传递给邻近的手机。

JESS LOWENBERG DeBOER: "In one month, the video had spread to one hundred eighteen people in fifty different villages. And we think that this is just incredible impact."
Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer：“一个月的时间，这个视频已经传递给50个不同村庄的118个人。所以我们认为这是一个令人难以置信的影响。”