VOA慢速英语:US Finds Unapproved Form of Wheat in Oregon

Some countries have suspended imports of wheat from the United States. The suspensions were announced after an unapproved form of wheat was found in the American state of Oregon. The crop was made through processes of genetic engineering.
有些国家已经暂停从美国进口小麦。宣布暂缓进口是在美国俄勒冈州发现一种未经批准种植的小麦之后，这种作物是通过基因工程制成的。

An Oregon farmer recently discovered wheat in his field that survived the popular weed killer Roundup. Roundup is designed to destroy unwanted plants. It is a product of the seed and chemical company Monsanto.
一位俄勒冈州农民最近在他的地里发现一些未被常用除草剂农达（Roundup）除掉的小麦。农达被用于除掉有害植物。它是种子和化学公司孟山都的产品。

The company has created genetically engineered corn, cotton, soybean and canola crops that resist Roundup. Monsanto had field-tested Roundup-resistant wheat. But it never sought government approval of the wheat and the seed were never sold.
该公司生产了能抵抗农达的转基因玉米、棉花、大豆和油菜作物。孟山都曾实地测试过抗农达的小麦，但从未寻求政府批准种植这种小麦，其种子也从未出售。

Michael Firko is with the United States Department of Agriculture, he says the wheat had passed safety inspections.
Michael Firko就职于美国农业部，他表示这种小麦通过了安全审查。
"Although there are no wheat varieties that are approved for unrestricted planting, we have no safety concerns related to planting of this transgenic wheat at this time."
“尽管我们没有批准过无限制种植任何小麦品种，但对目前这种转基因小麦的种植我们没有安全上的顾虑。”

Monsanto ended its wheat project mainly because buyers in Europe and Asia were concerned about the safety of genetically engineered crops. The discovery of unapproved wheat in Oregon led Japan and South Korea to suspend some imports, at least temporarily.
孟山都公司终止了它的小麦项目，主要是因为欧洲和亚洲的买家担心转基因作物的安全性。在俄勒冈州发现未经批准种植的小麦导致了日本和韩国暂停进口，至少暂时会如此。

Mark Welch is an agricultural economist at Texas A&M University. He says American Farmers do not want to produce genetically engineered wheat because there is no demand for it. he also says the incident could affect America's standing in a competitive world marketplace.
Mark Welch是德克萨斯农工大学的一名农业经济学家。他说由于没有需求，美国农民不想种植转基因小麦，他说这件事会影响美国在这个充满竞争的世界市场上的地位。

The United States is the world's largest wheat exporter. Mark Welch says American agriculture already has difficulty competing against other countries because production costs are higher in the United States.
美国是全球最大的小麦出口国。Mark Welch表示，因为美国生产成本太高，美国农业在和其它国家的竞争中已经面临困难。

"If we're going to maintain a place in world markets, we have to primarily on two fronts: one on quality, and the other on reliability. And this raises a red flag, of course, when something like this happens."
“如果我们想在世界市场上保有立足之地，我们必须抓住两个方面，一是质量，而是可靠性。现在出现这样的事，已经亮了红灯。”

Right now it is not clear how the incidents happened. American officials are working to identify where the genetically engineered wheat came from. There is no evidence yet that it has entered the food supply, However, the Agriculture Department is working to make tests available to buyers.
目前尚不清楚这一事件是如何发生的。美国官员正在努力查明这种转基因小麦源自何处。尚未有证据表明它已经进入食品供应。然而，农业部正致力于为卖家提供检测办法。

Prices of wheat on world markets have changed little since the discovery of the unapproved wheat. But this could change after the investigation is completed.
自从发现未经批准的小麦，世界市场上的小麦价格变动不大。但调查工作完毕后可能会有所改变。