如果你每天早上都要喝一杯拿鐵、卡佈奇諾或是濃縮咖啡才能振作精神，那麼從現在起，你可能需要註意瞭。專傢說，咖啡一族們每天花在咖啡上的消費很可能會開始上漲，而且咖啡的口味也有可能不比從前。這究竟是為什麼呢？本集《隨身英語》探討咖啡種植業正面臨的威脅以及人們可以怎樣通過科技來改善這個不容樂觀的局面。
課文內容
Vocabulary: coffee 詞匯: 咖啡
Do you like drinking coffee? I certainly do. In fact you could say I’m an addict because I have to drink a cup every morning to kick-start my day and get my brain working! Latte, cappuccino, espresso – you name it, I’ll drink it. And I’m not alone – it seems like everyone has a coffee cup glued to their hands as they rush to the office. So how would we survive if there was a coffee drought?
Well, experts are warning that our favourite caffeine shot could really be under threat. Our love for coffee could mean that demand outstrips supply. This, of course, could hit us in the pocket but there’s even worse news – we could face poorer-tasting coffee. This is the view of scientists at London’s Kew Gardens who are blaming global warming for this possible hot beverage crisis.
Demand for coffee has certainly increased as people have become more affluent. Consumption has doubled in the last 35 years. Last year 9.5 billion kilos were consumed. But as we drink more, the areas where coffee is grown is predicted to shrink. The International Coffee Organisation says that bean production in South East Asia, for example, will decrease by 70% by 2050. The AYYBLOG spoke to Dr Tim Schilling, director of the World Coffee Research institute, who says: “The supply of high-quality coffee is severely threatened by climate change, diseases and pests, land pressure, and labour shortages – and demand for these coffees is rising every year.”
This is a sobering thought for those of us who rely on a caffeine fix everyday but more worrying for people who work in the industry. Coffee provides a livelihood for about 16% of Ethiopia’s population. And across the globe, extreme weather events are proving a challenge to coffee growers in places such as Brazil and Vietnam.
There is some hope. Technology is helping to protect the future of coffee such as ‘breeding‘ the Arabica bean plants to increase its diversity and making it resistant to climatic changes. It’s also possible to relocate the coffee-growing areas – although this sometimes leads to areas being deforested. Dr Aaron Davis, coffee researcher at Kew, says: “There is the potential to mitigate some of the negatives and actually increase the coffee-growing area by four and a half times compared with maintaining the status quo.” But will this come quick enough before our coffee turns bitter and we look for a cheaper alternative?
詞匯表
addict 對…上癮的人
kick-start 使…開始
coffee drought 咖啡“荒”，指咖啡供應缺乏的情況
outstrip （數量、程度）超過
hit someone in the pocket 使某人掏盡腰包
global warming 全球氣候變暖
beverage 飲料（統稱）
affluent 富裕的
consumption 消耗量
sobering 發人深省的
caffeine fix 一份含咖啡因的提神飲品
livelihood 生計來源
breeding （植物的）培植
diversity 多樣性
resistant 耐…的，有能力抵抗…的
mitigate 減輕（危害）
status quo 現狀
測驗與練習
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. According to experts, how will global warming affect how we experience coffee?
2. What has happened to the amount of coffee drunk over the last 35 years?
3. Which word did Dr Tim Schilling, director of the World Coffee Research Institute, use to mean insects or small animals that damage plants or supplies of food?
4.True or false: People who work in the coffee industry have to have a caffeine fix every day.
5. Some new areas for growing coffee have been developed but what has this caused in certain places?
2. 請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。
1. The government hopes to ______ the economy by dropping interest rates.
kick-off kick-up kick-start kick-back
2. Poor diet, high alcohol ______, smoking and inactivity are also linked with high cholesterol.
beverage consumption sobering breeding
3. Many factory workers could lose their ______ because of falling orders for cars.
lives diversity caffeine fix livelihoods
4. The bank lost so many customers because it was ______ to change and they thought it was old-fashioned.
resisting resistance resistant resisted
5. Tourism is so popular on the island now that something needs to be done to ______ the effects.
mitigate kick-start status quo outstrip
答案
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. According to experts, how will global warming affect how we experience coffee?
It will cost more money and not taste as good.
2. What has happened to the amount of coffee drunk over the last 35 years?
Coffee consumption has doubled in the last 35 years.
3. Which word did Dr Tim Schilling, director of the World Coffee Research Institute, use to mean insects or small animals that damage plants or supplies of food?
Pests.
4.True or false: People who work in the coffee industry have to have a caffeine fix every day.
False. Coffee drinkers rely on a caffeine fix but people who produce coffee don’t.
5. Some new areas for growing coffee have been developed but what has this caused in certain places?
Deforestation.
2. 請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。
1. The government hopes to kick-start the economy by dropping interest rates.
2. Poor diet, high alcohol consumption, smoking and inactivity are also linked with high cholesterol.
3. Many factory workers could lose their livelihoods because of falling orders for cars.
4. The bank lost so many customers because it was resistant to change and they thought it was old-fashioned.
5. Tourism is so popular on the island now that something needs to be done to mitigate the effects.
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