英語課外新聞閱讀
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課外閱讀1
英澳礦業(yè)巨頭力拓公司針對(duì)中國(guó)將其上海的員工以在鐵礦石合同談判中受賄透露國(guó)家機(jī)密為由的指控進(jìn)行辯駁。此次拘留也在澳大利亞國(guó)內(nèi)掀起了不小的轟動(dòng)，并開始質(zhì)問國(guó)外企業(yè)在中國(guó)的運(yùn)營(yíng)情況。中國(guó)外交部發(fā)言人秦剛稱：“我們強(qiáng)烈反對(duì)那些妄圖利用此事干涉中國(guó)司法獨(dú)立權(quán)的做法，此事并不涉及澳大利亞國(guó)家利益。”
Rio denies Chinese allegation (陳述)ofbribery(受賄)
Rio Tinto(力拓), the Anglo-Australian mininggiant(英澳礦業(yè)巨頭), on Friday rejected Chineseallegations that four of its employees detained(扣留) in Shanghai were involved in briberyand stealing state secrets(國(guó)家機(jī)密) during tense iron ore contract negotiations(緊張的鐵礦石合同談判).
The detentions have caused a furore(喧鬧) in Australia and raised questions about how foreignbusinesses operate in China.
Sam Walsh, Rio’s iron ore chief, said claims that the employees were bribing officials at Chinesesteel mills were wholly without foundation.
“We remain fully supportive of our detained employees, and believe that they acted at all timeswith integrity (正直)and in accordance with Rio Tinto’s strict and publicly-stated code ofethical behaviour(公共道德行為規(guī)范),” he said in a statement.
Mr Walsh added that the miner continued to operate in China and was maintaining high levelsof iron ore shipments(船運(yùn)，水運(yùn)) from its Pilbara operations in Western Australia(西澳大利亞洲的皮爾巴拉行動(dòng)).
Rio has maintained the innocence of the Shanghai-based employees — including Australiancitizen Stern Hu — ever since they were taken in this month, but Friday’s statement was thefirst time the company had stood behind the four so vehemently.
Gary Locke, the new US commerce secretary(商務(wù)秘書長(zhǎng)), promised he would raise the caseof Mr Hu with Beijing.
China’s foreign ministry had warned the Australian government against interference.
“We resolutely oppose anyone deliberately whipping up this case or trying to interfere inChina’s judicial independence(司法獨(dú)立),” Qin Gang, foreign ministry spokesman, toldreporters on Thursday. ”This is not in Australia’s interest.”
Stephen Smith, Australia’s foreign minister, met He Yafei, his Chinese counterpart, in Cairo onThursday. He said the investigation by Chinese authorities was ongoing.
Rio’s London-listed shares were 1.27 per cent higher at £21.07 in early trading.
課外閱讀2
An Amazing Moneymaker
For city dwellers(城市居住者) and suburbanites(住市郊的人), the month of October may justseem like a 30-day prelude (前序)to the spookiest(幽靈般的) night of the year. Far removedfrom "the land," it's easy to forget that October is also harvest time, when the rewards of thegrowing season are finally reaped. That also makes it the perfect time of year for cornfieldmazes(谷物迷宮).)
According to the USDA(美國(guó)農(nóng)業(yè)部), between 1974 and 2002, thenumber of corporate-owned farms(企業(yè)擁有農(nóng)田) in the U.S. increased by more than 36 percent, and between 2005 and 2006, we lost 8,900 farms. Family farms, as most folks know, need all thehelp they can get--and ag-tourism (農(nóng)業(yè)旅游)like corn mazes is oneway family farmers are increasing profits.
One man in particular has pushed the corn maze craze to thenext level in the U.S. Brett Herbst started his own corn maze inAmerican Fork, Utah(猶他州的亞美尼加弗), in 1996, after readingabout a similar enterprise in Pennsylvania. A recent agribusinessgraduate (農(nóng)業(yè)綜合企業(yè)畢業(yè)生)of Brigham Young University(楊白翰大學(xué)), he rented land and got to work. Herbst then helped his sister and a friend create mazesthe next year. After the second year, the media began reporting on the mazes.
"So many people heard about [the corn mazes] from all different parts of the country. That'swhen people started calling us, and saying, 'Hey, we want to do something like this. Whatwould it cost?' And we're going, 'Huh, we could probably charge money for this,'" recalls Herbst, who then started The Maize, a company with three full-time employees and many seasonalworkers (季節(jié)性員工)that helps more than 190 farms create mazes each year in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Designs are only limited to the farmers' imaginations: Past maze themes include NapoleonDynamite(拿破侖), Gerald Ford (福特)and John Wayne(約翰韋恩). Herbst, who still rentsland to run his own maze in Lehi(利希，地名), Utah, but owns a farm in Springville, Utah, evenwon the Guinness World Record for the world's largest corn maze in 1999 with a cosmic, space-inspired design.
Though most corn mazes are open to visitors only during October, Herbst starts helping hisclients design the mazes in February. Some folks cut their own mazes, which begins when thecorn is low in June, while others pay The Maize to do it. Herbst also offers marketing support, including a page on his website, though his clients arrange for their own aerial photographs (飛機(jī)上拍攝的照片)of the mazes. In the late autumn and early winter, Herbst takes care of hisfinancial tasks and finishes up his own farming work. Then it starts all over again.
Out on the Farm(農(nóng)場(chǎng)之外)
Laurie and Ken Graff are using The Maize's services on their family farm and ranch (農(nóng)場(chǎng)和牧場(chǎng))in Hondo, Texas(得克薩斯本州), for the seventh year--though they do things a littledifferently. "Our maze is grown out of hay grazer(干草), the stuff hay bales are made out of. Corn doesn't grow well in late July when our maze is planted, due to excessive heat and bugproblems(持續(xù)的高溫和蟲害問題)," explains Laurie, whose 900-acre farm and ranch have beenin Ken's family since the 1850s. They've had more than 110,000 visitors to their maze, notincluding their current season.
Laurie says they first decided to create the maze to diversify(多樣化) and generate moreincome. Herbst explains that's often the case. With multinational companies(跨國(guó)公司) takingover the agriculture business, it can be very difficult to compete. "The family farm has 20 acresor 100 acres. How do you compete with this corporate farm that's got 50,000 acres and isbringing stuff in from Mexico or Australia," asks Herbst, who has helped create more than 1,200 mazes since 1996. "Ag-tourism(農(nóng)業(yè)旅游) and corn mazes are an avenue to drive peopledirectly to your farm and get that income directly from the consumer."
Extending the Experience(擴(kuò)張經(jīng)驗(yàn))
Indeed, it's the value-added experience(增值的旅游經(jīng)歷) that brings visitors to farms. Mostcorn maze operators offer other activities, like hay rides(坐草車), bounce houses(充氣家具), farming demonstrations(農(nóng)場(chǎng)解說), apple picking(采摘蘋果), pumpkin patches(收獲南瓜), mini mazes(小迷宮) or petting zoos(愛畜動(dòng)物園). "Successful mazes often are part of a largerag-tourism business," says Dan Looker, business editor for Successful Farming magazine(《成功農(nóng)場(chǎng)》), who adds that some farmers also have opened bed and breakfasts or startedcompanies allowing customers to be a farmer for a day.
"They aren't farming in the traditional sense," Looker says. "In fact, a maze is an entirely newbusiness with a whole new set of planning requirements--crowd control(人群控制), parking(停車), increased insurance liability(增加保險(xiǎn)責(zé)任), additional hired help(額外的臨時(shí)幫工) and the need to provide complementary services like food, refreshments, souvenirs, which also increase revenue."
In Temecula, California(加利福尼亞的蒂梅丘拉), a growing area outside of Los Angeles, the BigHorse Feed and Corona Ranch and Land Company(公司名) offers different activities eachweekend at its corn maze like "Old Fashioned Farm Days(傳統(tǒng)農(nóng)場(chǎng))," which featuresdemonstrations of blacksmithing(手工鍛造), wool spinning (羊毛紡紗)and sheepshearing(剪羊毛).
"It's family entertainment. Everybody can enjoy it from 4 to 80," says Rose Corona, who runsthe family ranch and business with her brother Steve. They donate all the profits from themaze to organizations like the YMCA(基督教青年) and the Marine Corps(海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊(duì)). "It's notanything fancy, but I think a lot of people think it's amazing because they never get a chance togo on a farm."
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