好英语网美国出现极端酷热干旱
WASHINGTON — Scorching heat and the worst drought in nearly a half-century are threatening to send food prices up, spooking consumers and leading to worries about global food costs.
华盛顿——酷热的天气以及将近50年以来最严重的旱灾有可能引起食物价格上涨, 并引发消费者恐慌以及对全球食品价格的担忧。
On Wednesday, the government said it expected the record-breaking weather to drive up the price for groceries next year, including milk, beef, chicken and pork. The drought is now affecting 88 percent of the corn crop, a staple of processed foods and animal feed as well as the nation’s leading farm export.
政府部门周三表示，据他们预测，这种史无前例的天气情况将迫使包括牛奶、牛肉、鸡肉和猪肉在内的食品在明年涨价。现在，旱情已经对88%的玉米作物、大量加工类食品、动物饲料以及主要出口农作物产生了影响。
本周，内布拉斯加州布莱尔南部的农田中，一排排玉米杆。人们砍掉受干旱影响的玉米作物，制成青贮饲料。
The government’s forecast, based on a consumer price index for food, estimated that prices would rise 4 to 5 percent for beef next year with slightly lower increases for pork, eggs and dairy products.
政府在研究过食品类消费者价格指数后预估，明年牛肉价格会上涨4%到5%，猪肉、鸡蛋以及乳制品的价格上涨幅度会比牛肉稍低一些。
The drought comes along with heat. So far, 2012 is the hottest year ever recorded in the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, whose records date to 1895. That has sapped the production of corn, soybeans and other crops, afflicting poultry and livestock in turn.
干旱和热浪一起袭来。美国国家海洋和大气管理局(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)保存了自1895年以来的天气记录，据该局透露，2012年是有记录以来气温最高的年份。这样的天气情况导致玉米、大豆和其他农作物减产，进而影响到了家禽和家畜。
It is also harming parts of the infrastructure. Highways in Texas, nuclear power plants in Illinois, runways and subway rails in Washington and the concrete, steel and sophisticated engineering that undergird the nation’s infrastructure are being taxed to worrisome degrees by heat, drought and vicious storms.
天气也对部分基础设施造成了损害。得克萨斯的高速路、伊利诺伊的核电站、华盛顿的飞机跑道和地铁铁轨，以及那些用以加固国家基础设施的混凝土、钢铁及复杂工程设施都因高温、干旱和狂风暴雨而承受重压，达到了令人不安的程度。
The impact of the hot and dry weather on the nation’s farmers has put new pressure on Congress to move ahead on a pending five-year farm bill. But House Republican leaders have been reluctant to act because of divisions within the party’s rank-and-file about the cost of the nearly $1 trillion bill.
干热天气对农民的冲击给国会带来了新的压力，促使他们加速出台下一个五年农业法案。但是众议院共和党领袖们一直不愿通过这项法案，因为该党普通成员在法案涉及的费用方面存在分歧。费用大约为一万亿美元。
The legislation includes several federal agriculture programs that farmers have come to expect, though it does not include any specific drought assistance. Several important disaster relief programs expired at the end of 2011, leaving farmers and ranchers who have lost cattle or grazing land with few options without Congressional action.
虽然立法工作没有涉及任何解决旱情的具体措施，其中却包含了一些农民期待的联邦农业项目。几项重要的灾难援助项目已于2011年年底到期，如果国会没有新的措施，农民和那些失去牛群和牧业用地的牧场主将会蒙受损失。
“I’ve been urging the House of Representatives to get a bill to the floor and get it voted on so they can conference with the Senate and get a farm bill passed,” said Thomas J. Vilsack, the agriculture secretary.
“我一直在督促众议院就这项法案进行辩论，使它进入投票程序，这样才能与参议院进行讨论，最终使法案得以通过，”农业部长托马斯·J·维尔萨克(Thomas J. Vilsack)说。
For now, analysts said they expected the broader economic impact of rising food prices to be modest. Americans spend just 13 percent of their household budgets on food. The falling price of gasoline — fuel and transportation costs being a major component of prices at restaurants and grocery stores — will help temper any price increases.
分析人士表示，就目前而言，他们预期食物价格上涨对宏观经济的影响有限。美国人的食物支出只占家庭预算的13%。燃料和运输成本占据餐馆和商店的食品标价主要部分。汽油价格的下降将会平衡价格增长。
Analysts said there might be little effect on economic growth or overall inflation, which has been running around 2 percent a year.
分析人士表示，食品价格增长对经济增长或总体通货膨胀的影响可能会很小。美国一年内的总体通货膨胀率为2%左右。
But economists said consumers — particularly the poor and unemployed — would still feel the effects.
但是经济学家表示，消费者将会受到影响，特别是那些贫穷和失业的消费者。
“It is one extra kick in the stomach” for low-income families, said Chris G. Christopher, senior principal economist at IHS, a consulting firm. “There’s a lot of people in this country living paycheck to paycheck. This is not a good thing for them.”
IHS咨询公司的资深首席经济学家克里斯·G·克里斯托弗(Chris G. Christopher)表示，这对于低收入家庭来说是“在伤口上撒盐”。他说，“在这个国家，有很多人属于月光族。价格上涨对他们来说不是好事。”
Higher food prices might also damp consumer sentiment. “Consumers are very sensitive to the price of gas and food,” said Jeet Dutta, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics. “But overall inflation will still look pretty moderate for the rest of the year.”
较高的食品价格也会使消费者心情低落。“消费者对汽油和食物的价格十分敏感，”穆迪分析机构(Moody’s Analytics)的高级经济学家杰特·达特(Jeet Dutta)说。“但今年下半年，总体通货膨胀率将会维持在相当低的水平。”
Economists fear a far greater impact outside of the United States because America is a major exporter of a broad variety of agricultural products. Lower production at home means less supply and higher prices abroad.
因为美国是许多农产品的出口大国，经济学家担心食品价格上涨会对其他国家产生远比国内为大的影响。国内产量减低意味着对外供应量将会减少，价格将会上涨。
“We’re seeing the price of wheat, corn and beans go up,” said Marc Sadler, the head of the agricultural risk management team at the World Bank, noting that in other regions of the world, like Eastern Europe, yields were also falling.
“小麦、玉米、豆类的价格都在上涨，”世界银行(World Bank)农业风险管理组组长马克·萨德勒(Marc Sadler)说。他指出，在世界上的其他地区，比如东欧，农产品产量也在下降。
“Food wheat is about bread and cookies and instant noodles. But it’s about instant noodles in Asia and Indonesia, as much as it is about what you’re going to buy in Walmart,” Mr. Sadler said.
“小麦关系到面包、饼干和方便面的生产，但小麦减产不光会影响到你在沃尔玛(Walmart)的食物选择，还会对亚洲和印度尼西亚的方便面产生影响，”萨德勒说。
Countries that import substantial amounts of animal feed made from corn and soybeans will feel the impact the most, said Maximo Torero, an economist with the International Food Policy Research Institute, an international research group.
国际粮食政策研究所经济学家(International Food Policy Research Institute)马克西莫·托瑞若(Maximo Torero)表示，那些大量进口由玉米、大豆制成的动物饲料的国家受影响最严重。该研究所是一个国际研究组织。
On Wednesday, government data showed the extent to which the heat and the drought had devastated crops and provided a first look at next year’s expected price increases.
周三，政府发布的数据显示了高温和干旱对农作物的损害程度，并且首次预测了明年的价格增长情况。
The Agriculture Department’s figures show the largest percentage increase next year in its price indexes is expected for beef, a rise of 4 to 5 percent. The price of dairy products will increase 3.5 to 4.5 percent and eggs by 3 to 4 percent. Pork is expected to rise 2.5 to 3.5 percent.
农业部的数据显示，明年价格指数涨幅最高的将会是牛肉，达到4%至5%。奶制品价格将会上涨3.5%到4.5%，鸡蛋价格增长率为3%至4%。猪肉价格预期增长2.5%到3.5%。