VOA慢速英语，作为国际英语学习者的重要资源，通过清晰缓慢的发音与简洁的词汇，为初学者及中等水平学习者搭建了通往流利英语的桥梁。它不仅帮助提升听力理解能力，还丰富了词汇量，增强了语感，是学习地道英语表达不可或缺的工具，对全球英语学习者的语言提升至关重要。让我们一起进入今天的VOA慢速英语听力训练：利用香蕉茎制作产品。
英文原文
Banana plant stems are mostly useless following harvest of the fruit. It takes time and work to remove the stem from the ground. Then, the farmers have to crush the plant waste to small pieces to spread around crops. But is there a better way to deal with the plant waste? A company in Uganda says the business is collecting banana stems to process the plant tissue and make products. The idea is both new and sustainable in the East African country, where banana plants are very important.
香蕉采摘后，其茎秆大多无用。将茎秆从地里拔出需要花费时间和精力。然后，农民们还得把植物废料碾碎成小块，撒在庄稼周围。但是，有没有更好的处理植物废料的方法呢？乌干达的一家公司表示，他们正在收集香蕉茎秆，以加工植物组织并制造产品。这一想法在东非国家乌干达既新颖又可持续，因为香蕉植物在该国非常重要。
Uganda has the highest rate of banana use in the world. The country is Africa's top banana crop producer. A young local business, Texfad, deals with the banana plant waste. Now, it says it is making a profit from all the rotting stems. Texfad collects some of the plant tissue and uses it to make products like floor coverings, containers for home goods, and more.
乌干达是世界上香蕉利用率最高的国家。该国是非洲最大的香蕉作物生产国。当地一家年轻的企业Texfad负责处理香蕉植物废料。现在，该公司表示正在从腐烂的茎秆中获得利润。Texfad收集部分植物组织，并将其用于制造地板覆盖物、家用容器等产品。
John Baptiste Ochello leads the business division of Texfad. He told The Associated Press that the business made sense in a country where farmers are struggling with millions of tons of banana-related waste. The company works with seven different farmers groups in western Uganda. It pays two dollars and 70 cents for a kilogram of dried fiber.
Texfad商务部门负责人约翰·巴普蒂斯特·奥切洛告诉美联社，在这个农民们正为数百万吨香蕉相关废料而苦恼的国家，这项业务是有意义的。该公司与乌干达西部七个不同的农民小组合作。他们以每公斤2美元70美分的价格收购干纤维。
David Bongarana is the leader of one such group in Shima district. He said only a small part of the stem is used for fiber. He said that the rest of the crushed plant remains are returned to the farmer for use as fertilizer. Texfad also takes material from a third party to Ponda Holdings Limited. Its trucks transport banana stems from farmers in central Uganda to Ponde's workers, who search the stems for the best candidates as fiber. Machines then turn the fiber into threads, thin, long pieces of cloth.
大卫·邦加拉纳是希马区一个这样的农民小组的组长。他说，茎秆中只有一小部分用于纤维。他说，其余的碾碎植物废料将归还给农民，用作肥料。Texfad还从第三方获取材料，交给Ponda Holdings Limited。该公司的卡车从乌干达中部的农民那里运来香蕉茎秆，交给Ponda的工人，他们会在茎秆中寻找最适合做纤维的部分。然后，机器将这些纤维纺成细长的纱线。
Agre Muganga is the Team Leader at Tupande Holdings Limited. He said his company deals with more than 60 farmers who continuously supplied surplus raw material. That number is only a small part of what is available in a country where banana crops make up more than 1 million hectares of land. Banana production has been increasing over the years. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics found that banana production rose from 6.5 metric tons in 2018 to 8.3 metric tons in 2019.
Agre Muganga是Tupande Holdings Limited的团队负责人。他说，他的公司与60多名农民合作，这些农民不断提供多余的原材料。在这个香蕉种植面积超过100万公顷的国家，这个数字只是可用资源的一小部分。近年来，香蕉产量一直在增加。乌干达统计局发现，香蕉产量从2018年的6.5公吨增加到2019年的8.3公吨。
Muganga said that they put extra income in the hands of the farmers. He added, "We turn this waste into something valuable that we sell to our partners who also make things." At a plant just outside the Ugandan capital Kampala, Texpad employs more than 30 people who use their hands to make products from banana fiber. The company is now exporting some products to Europe. Such products are possible because banana fiber can be softened to the level of cotton.
Muganga说，他们为农民带来了额外收入。他补充说：“我们把这些废料变成有价值的东西，然后卖给也生产产品的合作伙伴。”在乌干达首都坎帕拉郊外的一家工厂里，Texpad雇佣了30多名员工，他们用手工制作香蕉纤维产品。该公司现在正在向欧洲出口一些产品。之所以能够生产这些产品，是因为香蕉纤维可以软化到与棉花相同的程度。
Ochello said, "The company can make some paper products with the material. It is working with researchers to experiment with possible cloth from banana fiber. However, it does not have the technology to make clothing."
奥切洛说：“公司可以用这种材料制作一些纸制品。它正在与研究人员合作，试验用香蕉纤维制作可能的布料。然而，目前它还没有制作服装的技术。”
以上便是VOA慢速英语听力训练：利用香蕉茎制作产品相关内容，希望能帮助你提升听力！
