English to Chinese: World's Food
General field: Other
Detailed field: Agriculture | |
Source text - English
Generally, people in less developed countries consume less than those in more developed nations. We see this in the energy consumption in different countries.
The very poorest people like these women queuing for bread in Afghanistan, lack even the basic necessities for a health life. “We are living in a house in the mountains, without any doors or windows. There is no running water, there is nothing. Living condition is very bad.”
At the moment, one in every three people in the world do not have regular access to their minimum food requirements. And one in six people don’t have a reliable source of clean drinking water.
This is not necessarily because there are too many people living in areas that don’t have enough water or productive land; in many cases, it is part of a cycle of poverty. Poverty makes it harder for people to care for the land that sustains them. Mozambique in southern Africa, has as much arable land per person as the United Kingdom, and only about one third of the UK’s population. However, farming in Mozambique is not only dangerous due to landmines leftover from civil war, it is also difficult. The poorest farmers have the poorest quality land, and the pressure to produce food leads to over farming and exhaustion of the soil. These problems are worsened by cycles of drought and flood. Against which there is little warning or protection.
Many people also rely on solid fuels such as wood and charcoal, because they are accessible and cheap. But gathering wood is difficult time consuming work. Plus deforestation causes erosion and further degradation of the land. With better access to information, materials and technology, many less developed countries could produce more food, in a more sustainable way. | Translation - Chinese
总的来说，欠发达国家居民较之发达国家居民所消耗能源更少。我们可以根据世界各国能耗图观察出。
处在底层的贫苦大众，如这位在阿富汗山区排队等待分发面包的妇女，甚至没有维持健康生活的基本保障。“ 我们的房子在山区，没有门窗。我们没有自来水，什么都没有。生活条件十分恶劣。”
与此同时，世界上每三个人中间就有一个人缺乏最基本的口粮保证。每六个人中间就有一个人没有干净的饮用水。
造成这种现象的原因不一定是某一地区人口过于密集导致而饮用水和土地供应短缺，很多时候只是一个因困致贫的恶性循环。贫困使得人们无法养护其赖以生存的土地。南非的莫桑比克人均可耕种土地面积达英国的三倍，而只有英国三分之一的人口。但是，在莫桑比克耕作不但因为内战遗留的地雷而十分危险，且异常艰难。底层农民只能分到最贫瘠的土地，而产粮压力又会导致过度耕作和土壤退化。这些问题在旱涝的恶性循环下更加恶化。农民在自然灾害面前往往缺乏预警和保护。
很多第三世界国家居民仍依赖如木材和木炭等固体燃料，因为这些东西容易获取且价格便宜。但是收集木材是一项费时费力的工作，而且森林退化会导致土壤侵蚀和土地质量下降。如果第三世界国家的居民能接触更多信息，获取更多生产资料和科技，很多欠发达国家可以以更可持续的方式产出更多的食物。 |
Portfolio