VOA慢速英语:Irrigation Pioneer Wins World Food Prize

A researcher who helped make crops grow in dry land areas received the World Food Prize last week. Daniel Hillel was recognized for his work in developing what is called “micro-irrigation” or “drip irrigation.”  It has made farming possible in places where there is little rainfall or water.
一名帮助作物在干旱土地生长的研究者上周获得了世界粮食奖。丹尼尔•希勒尔因开发所谓的“微灌溉”或“滴灌”而得到认可，这种方法使得在少雨少水的地区种植作物成为可能。

Daniel Hillel’s farm near his home in Israel shows his ideas at work.
丹尼尔•希勒尔的农场坐落在他在以色列的家附近，他在这里展示自己的想法。

“Each tree row is fed by these plastic tubes that drip water at the base of the tree.”
“每排树都由这些塑料管灌溉，塑料管的将水滴到树的底部。”

Watering plants drop by drop has changed agriculture by reducing the amount of water needed to grow crops.
一滴一滴地给作物浇水改变了农业生产，减少了需要给作物提供的水量。

Jan Hopmans is a hydrologist at the University of California at Davis. He studies water-related issues in society. He says farmers now depend on drip irrigation in many areas, including vineyards in Spain, onion fields in Africa, and even farms in the United States.
Jan Hopmans是坐落在戴维斯的加利福利亚大学的水文专家，他研究社会上与水有关的问题。他说许多地区的农民们都利用滴灌方式，包括西班牙的葡萄园、非洲的洋葱田、甚至美国的农场。

“We in California grow about fifty percent of the fruits and vegetables of the continental United States. And the reason that is possible is because of, indeed, these drip and micro-irrigation techniques.”
“我们加州种植美洲大陆近50%的水果和蔬菜，使之成为可能的原因，就是滴灌和微灌溉技术。”

The World Food Prize Foundation says Daniel Hillel was born in California at the beginning of the Great Depression. After his father died, his mother moved the family to Palestine, where her parents lived. The area eventually became part of the state of Israel.
世界粮食奖基金称丹尼尔•希勒尔大萧条时代初期出生在加州，他父亲去世后，他母亲将家搬到巴勒斯坦她父母那里。这个地区最后成为以色列的一部分。

Daniel Hillel got his start in dryland farming as a settler in Israel’s Negev Desert in the nineteen fifties.
20世纪50年代，作为内盖夫荒漠的定居者，丹尼尔•希勒尔就开始了干旱农场的种植。

“The issue was efficient use of water. Because land is available. It’s extensive. Water is limited.”
“问题就是有效利用水，因为有土地，广阔的土地，而水是有限的。”

Desert farmers were not able to push water through irrigation canals to their crops, the way farmers have since ancient times. So Mr. Hillel and others gave plants just what they needed, just where they needed it.
沙漠农民无法将水通过灌渠提供给作物，像自古以来的农民那样。所以希勒尔和其他人只给作物需要的地方提供所需的。

“The idea was to apply the water little by little, the way you spoon-feed a baby.”
“我们的想法就是一滴一滴地用水，就像喂养婴儿那样。”

The method worked so well that soon Mr. Hillel was traveling the world, showing others how to do it.
这个方法效果不错，很快希勒尔就开始全世界旅行，向人们展示这个方法。

Experts say drip irrigation is an idea whose importance is growing, as climate change and rising population stretch water supplies in many parts of the world.
专家认为，气候变化、人口增长使得世界很多地方水供应紧张，滴灌的重要性也就越来越突出。

“This is where water use, water availability, water-use efficiency and climate change and crop production all converge. And this has been really the essence of my career.”
“这就是利用水的方法，水的利用，水分有效性，水利用效率，气候变化和作物生产都融入到一起，而这一直就是我职业生涯的精髓。”