Rivers in northwestern Bangladesh rise sharply during the rainy season causing months of flooding on farms and villages. This hurts the rural poor who depend on agriculture to survive. When the floods cover their lands they cannot grow crops or raise animals. But local farmers may have found a way to deal with the seasonal weather. Some are building small farms that float on top of the floodwaters.
孟加拉国西北部的河流在雨季中水位大幅上涨，造成农场和村庄遭受数个月的洪水。这伤害了依赖农业生存的农村贫困人口。当洪水淹没土地时，他们无法种植农作物或饲养动物。但当地农民可能已经找到了一种应对季节性气候的方法。一些人开始建造漂浮在洪水之上的小农场。

Hafiza Khatun is gathering eggs from the ducks that live in what is called a "coop" on her floating farm. The farm is made of bamboo plants and empty oil containers, or drums. It is attached to the bank of a river near the village of Charbhangura. Women also raise fish and vegetables on the floating farm.
哈弗莎·可敦（Hafiza Khatun）正在收集鸭蛋，这些鸭子住在她的水上农场的笼子中。这个农场是由竹子和空油桶建造的，它固定在Charbhangura村附近的河岸边。妇女们还在水上农场养鱼和种植蔬菜。

25-year-old Hafiza Khatun could not earn money during the rainy season before she had her floating farm. Ms. Khatun has two small children. She does not have any education. Her husband is an agricultural worker. But he does not work when monsoon rains fall from July to October. During that time, the Gurmani river rises at least three meters.
在没有这个水上农场之前，25岁的可敦在雨季期间就没法赚到钱。可敦女士有两个年幼的孩子。她没受过教育。她的丈夫是一位农工，但他在7月到10月的雨季不能工作。在此期间，Gurmani河至少上涨3米。

Three years ago, a Bangladeshi non-profit organization called Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha brought small floating farms to the village. The farms are 17 meters long and almost five meters wide. They are made of both recycled and local materials.
三年前，一家名为Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha的非营利性组织给这个村庄带来了水上小农场。这种农场长17米，宽近5米。它们是用可再生并且产自当地的材料建造的。

Long bamboo rails create places to raise fish in nets. Vegetables such as gourds and beans are grown in plastic containers filled with soil. Shidhulai pays the cost of making the farm.
长竹竿围成的网箱可以养鱼。瓜类和豆类等蔬菜种在装满泥土的塑料容器中。Shidhulai组织为建造这种农场提供资金。

For Ms. Khatun and other villagers, life is difficult during the flood season.
对可敦女士和其他村民来说，汛期生活艰难。

Ms. Khatun says when the water comes, her house goes underwater. There is no place to go, no place to stay, she says. There is water everywhere.
可敦女士说，洪水来临时，她的房子被淹没了。她无处可去，到处都是洪水。

But now she can grow food on the floating farm and earn money from selling some of it. Five to ten women work on one farm. Depending on the size of the farm, together they can earn about $1,700 a year. That amount of money can buy a lot of food in rural Bangladesh.
但现在她可以在水上农场上种植粮食并出售赚钱。一个水上农场上有五到十位妇女在此工作。根据农场的规模，他们每年一共可以赚1700美元左右。这笔钱在孟加拉国农村可以买到很多食物。

Ms. Khatun also rented land with the money she earned. She grows sugar cane on the land. Her family is saving money in a bank for the first time.
可敦女士还用她赚到的钱租地。她在这块地上种植甘蔗。她家首次在银行有了存款。

Mohammed Rezwan started Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha in 1998 to create schools on boats. The school boats let poor children continue their education even when flood waters block the roads they use to get to their school. Four years ago, he created floating farms so people can still earn money and feed themselves during flood season.
默罕默德·瑞兹万（Mohammed Rezwan）于1998年创办了Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha组织来建造水上学校。这种水上学校让贫困儿童能够继续接受教育，即使洪水阻挡了他们上学常走的道路。四年前，他建造了水上农场，这样人们在汛期仍然可以赚钱养活自己。

Bangladesh is close to sea level, which means it is greatly affected by climate change that causes flooding and rising sea waters. The difficulties of making money in the rainy seasons often lead rural people to move to cities in Bangladesh. Most cities are very crowded.
孟加拉国的海拔非常接近海平面，这意味着它在很大程度上要受到引发洪水和海平面上升的气候变化的影响。在雨季赚钱的各种困难往往会导致农村人口转移到孟加拉国的城市。大多数城市都非常拥挤。

Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries. There are 156 million people in an area that measures 144,000 square kilometers. That is about half as many people who live in the United States. But that country measures about 9.9 million square kilometers.
孟加拉国是世界上人口最稠密的国家之一。在14.4万平方公里土地上生活着1.56亿人口。该国的人口大约是美国的一半，但美国面积大约有990万平方公里。

Mr. Rezwan says there is great demand for answers for areas affected by climate change.
瑞兹万先生表示，受气候变化影响地区急需解决之道。

"Bangladesh is on the front line of climate change. We have hundreds of rivers in the country. So this project has big potential to be scaled up in the country and other developing countries, particularly the countries that will be affected by climate change."
他说，“孟加拉国处于气候变化的前线，该国国内有数百条河流。所以在该国和其它发展中国家，特别是受气候变化影响国家，这个项目存在很大的扩展空间。”

Shidhulai has created 40 floating farms that help about 300 women and their families. Mr. Rezwan wants to create 400 more farms in the next few years. He believes the floating farm idea can be used in other developing countries.
Shidhulai组织已经建造了40个水上农场，帮助了大约300位妇女和她们的家庭。瑞兹万先生希望未来数年再建造400个水上农场。他认为，水上农场的理念可以在其它发展中国家得到应用。

"We hope that the idea of on water farming will be replicated in other settings. It helps people adapt to changing climates. It creates jobs. It ensures food security and helps the whole family to adapt to the climate change."
他说，“我们希望水体养殖的理念能在其它地方得到复制。它有助于人们适应不断变化的气候。它能创造就业。它能确保粮食安全并有助于整个家庭适应气候变化。”

School boats are being used in several other countries, including the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nigeria and Zambia. The group's floating schools have helped more than 70,000 children in northwest Bangladesh go to classes since 2002.
水上学校在包括菲律宾，柬埔寨，越南，尼日利亚和赞比亚在内的其它国家得到了应用。自2002年以来，该组织的水上学校已经帮助了孟加拉国西北部7万多名儿童上学。

And that's the VOA Learning English Agriculture Report. For more agriculture and environment stories, go to our website: 51voa.com.
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