2012.7.31 单词 US drought pushes up food prices

来源：http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2012/07/120730_witn_usa_food.shtml

The drought affecting large parts of the Midwest has withered corn and soybeans in the fields. Those are the staple crops most commonly used to feed animals. As a result, beef, pork and dairy prices are expected to jump next year - but fruit and vegetables will not be affected because those crops are usually irrigated. The department of Agriculture had been predicting a bumper year for corn, but didn't realise how bad the drought would get when it made its food price projections last month. Other countries will also be affected, because US food exports have jumped dramatically in the past few years.

  

drought

long period of dry weather leading to water shortages

withered

dried out and shrivelled

staple crops

most important foods

irrigated

watered by using pipes, ditches and streams

a bumper year

a larger than usual period of growing

projections

estimates or forecasts

exports

sent to other countries

dramatically

in a big way