《中英對照讀新聞》The agricultural land affected by tsunami can be used for cultivation

遭海嘯侵襲的農地能用於耕作

◎ 魏國金

The contamination of soil by salt water--a potentially serious effect from December's devastating Indian Ocean tsunami--has been less severe than originally expected, agricultural experts said.

土壤遭海水污染─此一潛在嚴重後果源於十二月破壞性驚人的印度洋海嘯─不如原先預期的嚴重。農業專家說。

Surveys show salt deposited in more than two-thirds of the agricultural land affected by the Dec. 26 tsunami has been leached out already, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said in a statement.

調查顯示，沉澱在逾三分之二遭十二月二十六日海嘯侵襲的農地上的鹽巴，已經淋洗掉了，聯合國糧食暨農業組織在一份聲明上說。

This means the land will be ready when the planting season begins in April and May.

這意指土地將足以因應於四、五月開始的耕種季節。

Land flooded with salt water usually becomes unsuitable for most types of cultivation, and scientists initially feared the tsunami would cause extensive, long-term problems.

遭海水淹沒過的土地通常不利於大多數的耕種類型，因此科學家原本擔心海嘯將引發廣泛、長期的問題。

However, surveys found that of the total of 47,000 hectares of agricultural land damaged by tsunami waves in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, India and Thailand, about 38,000 hectares, or 81 percent, can be used for cultivation this year, said FAO.

然而，調查發現在總數達四萬七千公頃，受到海嘯波浪殃及的印尼、斯里蘭卡、馬爾地夫、印度與泰國的農地中，約有三萬八千公頃，或百分之八十一的土地能用於今年的耕作，糧農組織說。

Dictionary-新聞辭典

tsunami: 海嘯，源於日語津波。

contamination: 名詞，意指污染、弄髒或污染物。

deposit: 動詞，沉澱、淤積，也可指存錢，比如，She deposited 10,000 dollars in the bank. （她在銀行存了一萬元。）

leach: 動詞，指過濾、溶濾掉、淋洗掉。

planting season: 耕作季節。

cultivation: 名詞，指耕作、耕種、栽培。

U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization： 聯合國糧食暨農業組織（FAO）。