The worst drought for 50 years is inflicting huge damage on the US maize crop, with seriousconsequences for the overall international food supply.
　　美國(guó)玉米作物正受到50年來(lái)最嚴(yán)重旱情的巨大破壞，使國(guó)際糧食總體供應(yīng)情況受到了重大影響。
　　The situation reminds us that even the most advanced agricultural systems are subject to thevagaries of the weather, leading to volatility in supplies and prices not just on domesticmarkets but also internationally. Climate change and extreme weather events will furthercomplicate the picture.
　　當(dāng)前形勢(shì)提醒我們，即使是最發(fā)達(dá)的農(nóng)業(yè)體系也無(wú)法擺脫天氣無(wú)常的影響，這不僅會(huì)導(dǎo)致國(guó)內(nèi)市場(chǎng)供給和價(jià)格波動(dòng)，還會(huì)波及國(guó)際市場(chǎng)。氣候變化和極端天氣現(xiàn)象更使情況雪上加霜。
　　US maize production had been expected to increase to record levels this year. That view willprove optimistic. Much of the reduced crop will be claimed by biofuel production in line with USfederal mandates, leaving even less for food and feed markets. The August US Department ofAgriculture estimates, announced today, will give a more precise idea for just how much themaize crop is reduced. Few people are expecting good news.
　　人們?cè)绢A(yù)料，今年美國(guó)玉米產(chǎn)量將打破歷史最高紀(jì)錄。事實(shí)證明這種觀點(diǎn)過于樂觀了。根據(jù)聯(lián)邦法令，歉收的玉米中，相當(dāng)大一部分將被用于生產(chǎn)生物燃料，因而進(jìn)入糧食和飼料市場(chǎng)的玉米就更少了。
　　Maize prices have already gone higher than their 2008 and 2011 peaks, increasing by 23 percent during July alone. Wheat prices have followed maize prices upwards. Repercussions arealready being felt in the US livestock sector.
　　近期玉米價(jià)格已經(jīng)超過了2008年和2011年的峰值，單是7月份就上漲了23%。而小麥價(jià)格則追隨玉米價(jià)格上漲。美國(guó)畜牧業(yè)已經(jīng)感受到了價(jià)格上漲的沖擊。
　　Unsurprisingly, the media has started talking about the possibility of a food crisis. Whether thathappens depends not only on how long the drought lasts and how much damage it does tocrops but on how far its impact spreads to other markets, whether there are further supplyshocks and how countries react to the price movements.
　　媒體已經(jīng)開始談?wù)摮霈F(xiàn)糧食危機(jī)的可能性，這一點(diǎn)都不令人驚訝。是否會(huì)發(fā)生糧食危機(jī)不僅取決于旱情持續(xù)時(shí)間有多長(zhǎng)、對(duì)農(nóng)作物的傷害有多大，也取決于其影響向其他市場(chǎng)擴(kuò)散的程度，以及是否會(huì)有后續(xù)供給沖擊、各國(guó)如何應(yīng)對(duì)價(jià)格波動(dòng)。
　　In 2007-08 governments tended to react in a disorganised and erratic manner, which oftenaccentuated global price rises, as was the case with the imposition of export restraints. Oftenthe measures were not even effective in meeting the objective of stabilising domestic prices,as they often led to panic buying and hoarding.
　　2007-08年，各國(guó)政府的反應(yīng)無(wú)序混亂，這往往加劇了國(guó)際價(jià)格上漲，其效果如同實(shí)施出口限制措施一樣。但這些措施通常會(huì)引發(fā)搶購(gòu)和囤積行為，達(dá)不到有效穩(wěn)定國(guó)內(nèi)價(jià)格的目標(biāo)。
　　Given all this, governments should be cautious, especially considering that high prices are notnecessarily negative. Attractive producer prices will be needed in the coming months to enticeproducers to embark on a much needed increase of crop cultivation, especially in the southernhemisphere.
　　考慮到上述種種，政府應(yīng)該謹(jǐn)慎行事，尤其是高價(jià)并不一定產(chǎn)生負(fù)面效果。未來(lái)幾個(gè)月，只有生產(chǎn)者價(jià)格足夠誘人，才能吸引人們擴(kuò)大種植——這是目前亟需的——尤其是在南半球。
　　Some governments will be called to take a number of steps to alleviate the impact of thesituation on the poorest consumers, for example through the targeted distribution of food atsubsidised prices, increased reliance on non-commodities crops such as roots, tubers, andbeans, and assisting small producers to get better seeds and other basic inputs. Over thelonger term, strategies to increase local production and self-sufficiency should be implemented.
　　我們將呼吁一些國(guó)家的政府采取多項(xiàng)措施，緩解當(dāng)前局勢(shì)對(duì)最窮消費(fèi)者的沖擊，例如以補(bǔ)貼價(jià)格定向分配糧食，增加對(duì)根莖、塊莖和豆類等非大宗商品類作物的依賴，以及幫助小規(guī)模種植者取得更優(yōu)質(zhì)的種子和其他基本的投入品。從長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)來(lái)看，應(yīng)當(dāng)采取增加當(dāng)?shù)禺a(chǎn)量、提高自給自足水平的策略。
　　Fortunately rice supplies in 2012 are plentiful and rice prices stable, but they could also bedriven higher by increasing prices of other cereals. Rice market stocks were also notproblematic in 2007-08 but prices nevertheless increased dramatically. A lack oftransparency and unco-ordinated unilateral actions by importing and exporting countries andmedia coverage all contributed to creating panic.
　　幸運(yùn)的是，2012年大米供應(yīng)充足，價(jià)格穩(wěn)定，但米價(jià)也可能因?yàn)槠渌阮悆r(jià)格的上漲而走高。2007-08年，大米市場(chǎng)并不短缺，但價(jià)格卻出現(xiàn)大幅上漲。透明度不高、進(jìn)口國(guó)與出口國(guó)未經(jīng)協(xié)調(diào)的單邊行動(dòng)，以及媒體的報(bào)道，都產(chǎn)生了催生恐慌的效果。
　　With world prices of cereals rising, the competition between the food, feed and fuel sectors forcrops such as maize, sugar and oilseeds is likely to intensify. One way to alleviate some ofthe tension would be to lower or temporarily suspend the mandates on biofuels. At themoment, the renewable energy production in the US is reported to have reached 15.2bn gallonsin 2012, for which it used the equivalent of some 121.9m tonnes or about 40 per cent of USmaize production. An immediate, temporary suspension of that mandate would give somerespite to the market and allow more of the crop to be channelled towards food and feed uses.
　　隨著全球谷物價(jià)格攀升，糧食、飼料和燃料行業(yè)對(duì)玉米、糖和油籽等作物的爭(zhēng)奪可能升級(jí)。暫時(shí)停止關(guān)于生物燃料的法令或者降低其執(zhí)行力度，是緩解部分緊張的一個(gè)辦法。目前，2012年美國(guó)這一可再生能源的產(chǎn)量據(jù)報(bào)道已達(dá)到152億加侖，消耗的玉米約為1.219億噸，占到美國(guó)玉米總產(chǎn)量的40%。立即暫停執(zhí)行上述聯(lián)邦法令，將為市場(chǎng)提供一定的喘息空間，讓更多的玉米流向糧食和飼料用途。
　　The US drought leaves global markets highly vulnerable to any further supply side shocks.While the current situation is precarious and could deteriorate further if unfavourableweather conditions persist, it is not a crisis yet. Countries and the UN are better equipped thanin 2007-08 to face high food prices, with the introduction of its Agricultural Market InformationSystem, which and promote co-ordination of policy responses.
　　在經(jīng)受了美國(guó)旱情的影響之后，全球市場(chǎng)已無(wú)力再承受供應(yīng)方面任何的進(jìn)一步?jīng)_擊。盡管當(dāng)前形勢(shì)不確定，而且如果惡劣的天氣狀況持續(xù)的話，形勢(shì)可能還會(huì)惡化，但目前尚未出現(xiàn)危機(jī)。與2007-08年相比，目前各國(guó)與聯(lián)合國(guó)(UN)更有把握應(yīng)對(duì)高糧價(jià)，這是因?yàn)槁?lián)合國(guó)啟動(dòng)了能夠促進(jìn)各國(guó)政策反應(yīng)協(xié)調(diào)水平的農(nóng)產(chǎn)品市場(chǎng)信息系統(tǒng)(Agricultural Market Information System)。
　　However, risks are high and the wrong responses to the current situation could create it. It isvitally important that any unilateral policy reactions from countries, whether importers orexporters, do not further destabilise the situation.
　　然而，風(fēng)險(xiǎn)仍然很高，在應(yīng)對(duì)當(dāng)前局勢(shì)過程中，如果方法不當(dāng)也可能釀成危機(jī)。至關(guān)重要的是，無(wú)論是出口國(guó)還是進(jìn)口國(guó)，任何單方面的政策反應(yīng)都應(yīng)避免加劇局勢(shì)的不穩(wěn)定。

生物學(xué)方面論文翻譯（中英對(duì)照）