Why global warming threatens east African coffee
为什么全球变暖会威胁到东非的咖啡
Some of the world's best Coffea arabica is grown on the fertile slopes of Mount Kenya. This variety of the plant produces beans that are tastier than those from its poor cousin, Coffea canephora (known as robusta), which often ends up in instant coffee granules.
世界上最好的阿拉比卡咖啡豆中，有一些种植在肯尼亚山肥沃的山坡上。这个品种长出的咖啡豆比它的穷亲戚——中粒咖啡（也被称为鲁巴斯塔）味道更好。鲁巴斯塔咖啡豆通常会被用来做速溶咖啡颗粒。
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Global warming may shrink the total area that is most suited to growing arabica beans by about half by 2050.
到 2050 年，全球变暖可能会使最适合种植阿拉比卡咖啡豆的总区域减少大约一半。
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Some farmers are trying to adapt to warming by moving uphill. Yet this pushes them into areas long used for growing tea.
一些农民试图通过向山上迁移来适应气候变暖。但是这也使他们进入了长期用于种植茶叶的地区。
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Kenya's government-funded Coffee Research Institute is trying to find other ways of helping farmers adapt, such as encouraging them to plant trees to shade their coffee bushes, or to switch to growing hardier robusta plants. It is also trying to breed a hybrid, Arabusta, which would combine the hardiness of robusta with the flavour of arabica. Coffee snobs may turn up their noses at it, but they may have little choice but to swallow it.
肯尼亚政府资助的咖啡研究所正在努力寻找其他方法，来帮助农民适应气候变化，比如鼓励他们种植树木来遮挡咖啡树，或者转而种植抗性更强的罗布斯塔咖啡。研究所还在尝试培育一种杂交品种——阿鲁巴斯塔。这种杂交品种可以结合罗布斯塔的抗性与阿拉比卡的味道。对咖啡很讲究的人可能会对杂交品种嗤之以鼻，但他们可能别无选择，只能忍着了。
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In addition to a bitter taste, such adaptation may bring social costs. Many smallholder farmers are at risk of being pushed out of the industry altogether because they cannot afford the investments needed to protect their crops.
除了风味会变得苦涩，这种适应气候变化的手段还可能带来社会成本。许多小农面临被完全挤出这一行业的风险，因为他们无法负担保护农作物所需的投资。
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Another option may be entirely new varieties. Researchers are investigating a wild type of coffee, Coffea stenophylla. It is delicious and can also take the heat. But it produces lower yields than existing commercial varieties. Without a breakthrough of some sort, caffeine addicts may face a future too ghastly to contemplate.
另一个选择可能是全新的咖啡品种。研究人员正在研究一种野生咖啡——窄叶咖啡。这种咖啡口味上佳，而且还能耐热。但是它的产量低于现有的商用品种。如果没有某种突破性进展，咖啡因狂热爱好者可能面临着一个不堪设想的未来。
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主编：颖楠、Abby
品控：小米椒、青椒
审核：Lucky
重点词汇
fertile
/ˈfɝː.t̬əl/
adj. 肥沃的
搭配短语：fertile soil
slope
/sloʊp/
n. 斜坡
搭配短语：a mountain slope
end up
告终，结束
例句：The book ended up in the trash.
instant
/ˈɪn.stənt/
adj. 即食的，速食的
搭配短语：instant noodles
搭配短语：instant soup
granule
/ˈɡræn.juːl/
n. 颗粒
搭配短语：coffee granules
shrink
/ʃrɪŋk/
v. （数量、体积或价值）减少；缩小，使缩小
例句：This shirt might shrink if washed.
例句：We want to expand the business, not shrink it.
uphill
/ˌʌpˈhɪl/
adv. 上山，上坡
相关词汇：up（adv. 向上）
相关词汇：hill（n. 山）
例句：The road twists uphill.
反义词：downhill
shade
/ʃeɪd/
v. 遮挡光线
词性拓展：shade（n. 阴影，阴凉）
搭配短语：in the shade of sth.
例句：We all like sitting in the shade of the trees in summer.
搭配短语：to shade your eyes
bush
/bʊʃ/
n. 矮树丛，灌木丛
搭配短语：a rose bush
switch
/swɪtʃ/
v. 转化，转变
搭配短语：switch to
例句：Will Smith was a rap singer before switching to acting.
文化拓展：任天堂游戏机 Swtich，之所以名为 Switch，据说就是因为它可以在电视屏幕和游戏机屏幕之间无缝转换。
hardy
/ˈhɑːr.di/
adj. （植物）抗性强的
相关词汇：harden（v. 使（植物）提高抗性；使......变硬）
breed
/briːd/
v. 培育，饲养；（动物）繁殖
例句：He used to breed dogs for the police.
hybrid
/ˈhaɪ.brɪd/
n. 杂交种
文化拓展：hybrid 源于拉丁语，最早指的是家猪和野猪杂交生出的后代。后来词义扩展，hybird 可以指代各种“杂交而成的生物”。
搭配短语：hybrid rice
snob
/snɑːb/
n. 自命不凡的人；势利的人
搭配短语：wine snob
turn one's nose up at sth.
蔑视......
例句：The wine snob turns up his nose at beer.
swallow
/ˈswɑː.loʊ/
v. 吞下；忍受
例句：He swallowed the last of his coffee and asked for the bill.
英文释义：put up with or accept something unwelcome
例句：He seemed ready to swallow any insult.
smallholder
/ˈsmɑːlˌhoʊl.dɚ/
n. 小农，小农场主
相关词汇：holding（n. 租用的土地）
衍生词：smallholding（n. 小块农田）
altogether
/ˌɑːl.təˈɡeð.ɚ/
adv. 彻底地，完全地
近义词：completely
例句：This old custom has vanished altogher.
crop
/krɑːp/
n. 庄稼，作物
英文释义：a plant grown in large amounts
例句：The main crops grown here are rice and tea.
investigate
/ɪnˈves.tə.ɡeɪt/
v. 深入研究；调查，审查
例句：Future studies will investigate whether this drug could prevent cancer.
yield
/jiːld/
n. 产量，收益
例句：The average milk yield per cow has doubled.
例句：Shareholders are expecting a higher yield this year.
commercial
/kəˈmɝː.ʃəl/
adj. 商业的，贸易的
例句：The film was a huge commercial success.
of some sort
某种事物
例句：I'm going to have a salad of some sort.
ghastly
/ˈɡæst.li/
adj. 可怕的，恐怖的
文化拓展：有一种说法是，ghastly 就是 ghostly 拼写错误之后发展出来的一个词。
搭配短语：a ghastly murder
contemplate
/ˈkɑːn.t̬əm.pleɪt/
v. 思考，考虑
英文释义：to think about something
搭配短语：too......to contemplate
例句：The results of the war are too horrifying to contemplate.
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