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AchenyoIdachaba_2015W-_我如何化致命的植物为盎然的商机_
Welcome to Bayeku, a riverine community in Ikorodu, Lagos -- a vivid representation of several riverine communities across Nigeria, communities whose waterways have been infested by an invasive aquatic weed; 欢迎来到百耶庫, 这个河岸社区位于拉各斯州的伊科罗杜, 是奈及利亚各地众多河岸社区的鲜明代表。 这些社区的水道 被一种有侵略性的野生水草侵扰。
community:n.社区;[生态]群落;共同体;团体; vivid:adj.生动的;鲜明的;鲜艳的; representation:n.表现;代表;描述;陈述 communities:n.社区;社会;团体;共有(community的复数) waterways:n.水路;水道(waterway的复数);排水沟; infested:v.大量滋生;大批出没于;(infest的过去分词和过去式) invasive:adj.侵略性的;攻击性的; aquatic:adj.水生的;水栖的;在水中或水面进行的;n.水上运动;水生植物或动物;
communities where economic livelihoods have been hampered : fishing, marine transportation and trading; communities where fish yields have diminished; communities where schoolchildren are unable to go to school for days, sometimes weeks, on end. 这些社区的日常经济活动都被干扰: 捕鱼、海洋运输 以至贸易; 这些社区的鱼获都已减少; 这些社区的孩童不能上学, 连续数天甚至数星期。
economic:adj.经济的,经济上的;经济学的; livelihoods:n.赚钱謀生的手段;生计;(livelihood的复数) hampered:adj.受阻碍的;v.阻碍(hamper的过去分词);限制; marine:adj.海的;海产的;海生的;海船的;n.(尤指美国或英国皇家)海军陆战队士兵; transportation:n.运输;运输系统;运输工具;流放; yields:n.生产量,投资效益(yield的复数形式); v.[经]生产; schoolchildren:n.学童;(schoolchild的复数)
Who would have thought that this plant with round leaves, inflated stems , and showy , lavender flowers would cause such havoc in these communities. 有谁料到这样的植物── 长着圆形叶子、饱满的茎和鲜艳淡紫色的花朵 竟就会为这些社区带来了祸害。
inflated:adj.通货膨胀的; v.膨胀(inflate的过去式和过去分词); stems:n.花草的茎或梗; v.阻止; (stem的第三人称单数和复数) showy:adj.艳丽的;炫耀的;显眼的; lavender:n.薰衣草;淡紫色;adj.淡紫色的;vt.用熏衣草熏; havoc:n.大破坏;浩劫;蹂躏;v.严重破坏;损毁;
The plant is known as water hyacinth and its botanical name, Eichhornia crassipes. 这种植物是布袋莲, 其学名为凤眼蓝。
water hyacinth:[植]水葫芦;凤眼兰;凤眼蓝; botanical:adj.植物学的;n.植物性药材;
Interestingly , in Nigeria, the plant is also known by other names, names associated with historical events, as well as myths . 有趣的是,在奈及利亚,这种植物亦有好几种其他名号, 有些与历史事件有关, 有些则是神话。
Interestingly:adv.有趣地; associated:adj.有关联的; v.联想; (associate的过去分词和过去式) historical:adj.历史的;史学的;基于史实的; as well as:也;和…一样;不但…而且; myths:神话;谬见;
In some places, the plant is called Babangida. 在某些地方,这种植物称为「巴班基达」,
When you hear Babangida, you remember the military and military coups . 听到巴班基达这个名称,你会记起军队和军事政变,
military:adj.军事的;军人的;适于战争的;n.军队;军人; coups:n.政变; vt.使…颠倒; vi.推倒;
And you think: fear, restraint . 从而想到:害怕、限制。
restraint:n.约束;抑制;克制;限制;
In parts of Nigeria in the Niger Delta , the plant is also known as Abiola. 在奈及利亚的奈及利亚三角洲,这种植物亦被称为「阿比奥拉」。
Delta:n.(河流的)三角洲;德耳塔(希腊字母的第四个字);
When you hear Abiola, you remember annulled elections and you think: dashed hopes. 听到阿比奥拉这个名称,你会记起选举无效, 从而想到:破碎的希望。
annulled:v.废除;取消;宣告无效;(annul的过去分词和过去式)
In the southwestern part of Nigeria, the plant is known as Gbe'borun. 在奈及利亚的西北部, 这种植物另被称为「贝布鲁」,
Gbe'borun is a Yoruba phrase which translates to " gossip ," or "talebearer." 「贝布鲁」是约鲁巴的词彙, 意思是「流言蜚语」或「告密者」。
gossip:n.流言蜚语;闲聊;喜欢传播流言蜚语的人;v.传播流言蜚语;说三道四;
When you think of gossip, you think: rapid reproduction , destruction . 说到流言蜚语,你会想起快速繁殖和破坏。
reproduction:n.繁殖,生殖;复制;复制品; destruction:n.破坏,毁灭;摧毁;
And in the Igala-speaking part of Nigeria, the plant is known as A Kp'iye Kp'oma, 在奈及利亚说伊加拉语的地区, 这种植物被称为「阿匹耶波玛」,
And when you hear that, you think of death. 听到这个词,你会想到死亡,
It literally translates to "death to mother and child." 字面上直译就是「母亲和孩子之歿」。
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地:
I personally had my encounter with this plant in the year 2009. 我自己是在 2009 年遇上这植物的。
personally:adv.个人;亲自;本人;就本人而言; encounter:v.遭遇,邂逅;遇到;n.遭遇,偶然碰见;
It was shortly after I had relocated from the US to Nigeria. 那时候我刚从美国搬回奈及利亚不久。
relocated:v.(使)搬迁,迁移;(relocate的过去分词和过去式)
I'd quit my job in corporate America and decided to take this big leap of faith , a leap of faith that came out of a deep sense of conviction that there was a lot of work to do in Nigeria in the area of sustainable development . 我辞掉美国的工作, 决定实践心中的一种信念, 那种信念源自心底 确信在奈及利亚的永续发展方面, 尚需很多努力。
quit:v.离开;放弃;停止;使…解除;n.离开;[计]退出;adj.摆脱了…的;已经了结的; corporate:adj.公司的;组成公司(或团体)的;法人的;社团的; leap:n.跳越;跳跃;跳高;骤变;v.跳;跳跃;跳越;猛冲; faith:n.信心;信任;宗教信仰; conviction:n.判罪;定罪;坚定的看法(或信念);坚信;肯定; sustainable development:可持续发展;
And so here I was in the year 2009, actually, at the end of 2009, in Lagos on the Third Mainland Bridge. 于是我在 2009 年, 更确切是在 2009 年底, 在连接拉哥斯和两边大陆的第三大陆桥。
And I looked to my left and saw this very arresting image. 我看到左边有一幕引人注目的景象,
It was an image of fishing boats that had been hemmed in by dense mats of water hyacinth. 那景象是捕鱼的船 都被布袋莲交织得动弹不得。
hemmed:v.(给某物)缝边,镶边;(hem的过去分词和过去式) dense:adj.稠密的;浓厚的;愚钝的;
And I was really pained by what I saw because I thought to myself, "These poor fisherfolk, how are they going to go about their daily activities with these restrictions ." 我看到这景象很痛心, 因为我心想: 「这班可怜的渔夫, 他们的生财工具被布袋莲这样子困着 该怎么讨生活。」
restrictions:n.限制规定;限制;约束;制约因素;(restriction的复数)
And then I thought, "There's got to be a better way." 于是我想:「总是有更好的点子吧。」
A win-win solution whereby the environment is taken care of by the weeds being cleared out of the way and then this being turned into an economic benefit 总可以有一个双赢的方案,一方面保护环境, 移除这些水草开通了水路。 另一方面,借此又可以带来经济效用,
win-win:adj.双赢的;互利互惠的; solution:n.解决方案;溶液;溶解;解答; whereby:adv.凭借;通过…;借以;与…一致; weeds:n.野草(weed的复数形式); v.清除(weed的第三人称单数形式);
for the communities whose lives are impacted the most by the infestation of the weed. 裨益那些最受困于 这类水草繁殖的社区。
impacted:adj.压紧的;结实的;嵌入的;(人口)稠密的;v.装紧;挤满(impact的过去分词); infestation:n.感染;侵扰;
That, I would say, was my spark moment. 我会说,那一刻我灵光一闪。
spark:n.火花;电火花;火星;活力;v.引发;触发;冒火花;飞火星;
And so I did further research to find out more about the beneficial uses of this weed. 所以我再加紧做功课, 希望从中发掘出这类水草的用处。
beneficial:adj.有益的,有利的;可享利益的;
Out of the several, one struck me the most. 发掘出来的几项,其中有一项最令我倾倒。
It was the use of the plant for handicrafts . 那就是把这种植物化为手工艺品。
handicrafts:n.手工艺(handicraft的复数);手工艺品;
And I thought, "What a great idea." 我想:「那真是很棒的点子。」
Personally, I love handicrafts, especially handicrafts that are woven around a story. 我自己很喜爱手工艺品, 尤其是蕴藏故事的手工艺品。
especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分; woven:v.编织;交织(weave的过去分词);编造;adj.织物的;n.机织织物;
And so I thought, "This could be easily deployed within the communities without the requirement of technical skills." 我再想:「其实很容易就可以把这个想法落实在社区里, 因为不需要特别的技巧。」
deployed:v.部署(deploy的过去式);展开; technical:adj.工艺的,科技的;技术上的;专门的;
And I thought to myself, "Three simple steps to a mega solution." 我又跟自己说:「实践这个宏大方案有三步。」
mega:n.百万;adj.许多;宏大的;adv.非常;
First step: Get out into the waterways and harvest the water hyacinth. 第一步:走到水道里,把水草都收割起来。
That way, you create access. 如此,就开通了水道。
Secondly, you dry the water hyacinth stems. 第二步,把水草茎晾干。
And thirdly, you weave the water hyacinth into products. 第三步,把水草织成产品。
weave:v.编,织;(用…)编成;编造(故事等);n.织法;编法;编织式样;
The third step was a challenge. 第三步满是一个挑战。
See, I'm a computer scientist by background and not someone in the creative arts. 因为我其实是学电脑科学的, 并不是创意工艺的一员。
creative:adj.创造性的;
And so I began my quest to find out how I can learn how to weave. 所以我展开了搜索之旅, 看看怎样学会编织。
quest:n.追求;寻找;vi.追求;寻找;vt.探索;
And this quest took me to a community in Ibadan, where I lived, called Sabo. 这趟的搜索之旅带我来到我住的伊巴丹地区中的社区: 莎宝。
Sabo translates to "strangers' quarters." 莎宝译出来是「陌生人的丛居」。
And the community is predominantly made up of people from the northern part of the country. 这个社区主要的居民 来自这个国家的北部。
predominantly:adv.主要地;显著地; made up of:由…组成,由…构成;
So I literally took my dried weeds in hand, there were several more of them, and went knocking from door to door to find out who could teach me how to weave these water hyacinth stems into ropes. 我是真的捧着这堆晾干了的水草, 事实上有好几束, 逐家逐户地拜访,希望找到能教我 把布袋莲的茎编织成绳索的人。
And I was directed to the shed of Malam Yahaya. 有人要我到玛兰雅雅的边棚,
shed:v.摆脱;去除;蜕;落;n.工棚;简易房;剪羊毛棚;挤奶棚;
The problem, though, is that Malam Yahaya doesn't speak English and neither did I speak Hausa. 问题是,玛兰雅雅不会说英语, 而我也不会说豪撒语。
But some little kids came to the rescue and helped translate . 不过小孩们成了救星, 幫忙翻译。
rescue:n.救援;抢救;营救;获救;v.抢救;营救;援救; translate:v.翻译;被翻译;被译成;(使)转变;
And that began my journey of learning how to weave and transform these dried water hyacinth stems into long ropes. 我就是这样开始了学习编织的旅程, 学会将晾干了的水草茎 编织成为长长的绳索。
journey:n.旅行;行程;vi.旅行; transform:v.使改变;使改观;使转换;n.[数]变换式;[化]反式;
With my long ropes in hand, 手上握着长长的绳索,
I was now equipped to make products. 我就能够将之化为产品。
And that was the beginning of partnerships . 从而展开了搭檔的方向。
partnerships:n.伙伴关系;合伙;(partnership的复数)
Working with rattan basket makers to come up with products. 与藤篮的生产者搭檔研发产品。
rattan:n.藤;藤杖,藤条; come up with:提出;想出;赶上;
So with this in hand, I felt confident that I would be able to take this knowledge back into the riverine communities and help them to transform their adversity into prosperity . 有这个在手,我有信心 可以把这技能 带到社区里, 好幫助他们把逆境化为繁盛。
confident:adj.自信的;确信的; adversity:n.逆境;不幸;灾难;灾祸; prosperity:n.繁荣,成功;
So taking these weeds and actually weaving them into products that can be sold. 于是我们把这些水草编织起来 成为可以销售的产品。
weaving:v.编,织;(用…)编成;编造(故事等);(weave的现在分词)
So we have pens, we have tableware , we have purses , we have tissue boxes. 可以看到我们有笔、餐具, 我们有钱包、面纸盒。
tableware:n.餐具; purses:n.钱包;资金;财源;v.抽紧;把…放进钱袋;(purse的第三人称单数和复数) tissue:n.纸巾,手巾纸;(人、动植物细胞的)组织;
Thereby , helping the communities to see water hyacinth in a different light. 这样一来,幫助了社区 从另一个角度去了解布袋莲。
Thereby:adv.从而,因此;在那附近;在那方面;
Seeing water hyacinth as being valuable , being aesthetic , being durable , tough, resilient . 了解到布袋莲可以有价值, 可以有美感、耐用、坚实而有韧力。
valuable:adj.有价值的;贵重的;可估价的;n.贵重物品; aesthetic:adj.美的;美学的;审美的,具有审美趣味的; durable:adj.耐用的;耐久的;长期的;长久的;n.耐久品; resilient:adj.弹回的,有弹力的;
Changing names, changing livelihoods. 改变了名号,改变了生活。
From Gbe'borun, gossip, to Olusotan, storyteller . 从「贝布鲁」:流言蜚语, 变成了「欧鲁苏坦」:说故事者。
storyteller:n.说故事的人;故事作者;短篇小说作家;
And from A Kp'iye Kp'oma, which is "killer of mother and child," 从「阿匹耶波玛」:弒母子的杀手,
to Ya du j'ewn w'Iye kp'Oma, " provider of food for mother and child." 变成了「雅度节耶波玛」: 喂养母子者。
provider:n.供应者;养家者;
And I'd like to end with a quote by Michael Margolis. 最后,我想引用麦可．马哥拉斯的一句话作结。
quote:v.引用;报价;举例说明;开价;为(企业的股份)上市;n.引用;
He said, "If you want to learn about a culture, listen to the stories. 他说:「如果你想学懂一种文化,聆听他们的故事。
And if you want to change a culture, change the stories." 如果你想改变一种文化,就改变他们的故事。」
And so, from Makoko community, to Abobiri, to Ewoi, to Kolo, to Owahwa, Esaba, we have changed the story. 所以,从玛科科社区,到亚博毕瑞,到耶握依, 再到柯洛、奥瓦瓦、艾沙巴社区, 我们都改变了故事。
Thank you for listening. 谢谢聆听。
(Applause) （掌声）