看新聞 學英語

文／Wen-Chi Liao

【新聞關鍵字】

　　1.resign：v. 辭職

　　2.scandal：n. 醜聞

　　3.tainted rice：n. 毒米

　　4.string：n. 一串

　　5.undermine：v. 傷害

　　6.criticism：n. 批評

　　7.consumer：n. 消費者

　　8.to make a fuss：v.phr. 小題大作

　　Anchor：And in Japan, the country's farm minister resigned today over a scandal involving tainted rice that was fed to hospital patients and schoolchildren. It's the latest in a string of food industry scares that has undermined the public's trust in what they eat. Here's more.

　　新聞主播：在日本，國家農業部長為毒米醜聞今天辭職，這些白米已經吃入醫院病人和學童肚子。最近一連串的食品業恐慌，已破壞了一般大眾對他們所吃的食物的信任。以下有更多的報導。

　　STORY：Seiichi Ota is Japan's fourth farm minister to step down in two years. He is facing heavy media criticism after saying Japanese consumers should not make a 「big fuss」 over the tainted rice scandal.

　　新聞內容：日本第四任農業部長太田誠一是兩年內第四位下台的農業部長，他因為說日本消費者不該對毒米醜聞太大驚小怪後，面臨媒體嚴厲的批評。

【新聞關鍵字】

　　9.responsibility：n. 責任

　　10.contaminate ：v. 污染

　　11.pesticide：n. 農藥；殺蟲劑

　　12.mold：n. 黴菌

　　13.suspend：v. 暫停

　　14.consumption：n. 消耗

　　Seiichi Ota, Japanese Farm Minister：「I have decided to resign to take responsibility for the Agricultural Ministry as a whole and make the resulting responsibility clear.」

農業部長說：「我決定辭職，以表示對農業部作為一個整體的負責，以及讓後續的責任更清楚。」
 
　　The food scandal involves some small companies who sold rice contaminated with pesticides and mold to food, liquor companies, and even schools.

這個食品醜聞包括幾家小公司，他們賣含有農藥及發霉的毒米給食品公司、飲料公司，甚至還有學校。

　　The government has suspended rice imports and announced new rules to stop the sale of imported rice found to be unfit for consumption.

　　政府已暫停稻米進口，並宣佈對被發現不適於消費者使用的進口稻米，停止販賣的新規定。

【新聞關鍵字】

　　15.unnerve：v. 使氣餒

　　16.shatter：v. 粉碎

　　17.distribution：n. 分佈；銷售量

　　18.suspend：v. 使中止

　　19.consumption：n. 消耗

　　20.previously：adv. 事先

　　21.fertilizer：n. 肥料
 
　　The rice scandal has further unnerved consumers, whose trust in the food industry has been shattered. There have been repeated quality and false labeling scandals in recent years, ranging from sweets to milk and meat.

　　毒米醜聞更使消費者氣餒，對食品的信任都粉碎了，近幾年，有怪味的、標示錯誤的，範圍從甜點到牛奶、肉類都有。

　　Nobutaka Machimura, Government Spokesman：「The issue is that because the distribution system is so spread out, tainted rice has been eaten by a very large number of consumers and has fanned fears for the safety of our food products. We are deeply concerned about this and sorry about it.」

　　問題是因為分佈系統很廣，許多消費者已經把毒米吃下肚，引起他們對食品安全的恐懼。我們極關切，也深感抱歉。

　　Traders previously had the option of selling tainted rice for use in fertilizers and glue, but in the future, this will not be allowed.

　　進口商之前可選擇把毒米賣掉作肥料及黏著劑，不過將來就不允許了。
　　
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