2023-07-10 Developing decaffeinated coffee beans 巴西研究人员培育天然低咖啡因咖啡豆

巴西的研究人员们一直在试验培育天然低咖啡因的咖啡豆。他们希望开发出一个具有商业潜力的咖啡豆品种，以替代目前市场上需人工处理才能得到的低因咖啡。

For the last few years, researchers at the Instituto Agronomico de Campinas in Brazil have been interbreeding different coffee plants that are naturally very low in caffeine in order to create trees where decaf beans are grown naturally.

在过去几年里，巴西坎皮纳斯农业研究所的研究人员们一直在杂交培育不同的天然低因咖啡植物，以培育出自然生长低因咖啡豆的树木。

And the results so far are looking promising. If they’re successful, they could tap into a new aspect of the global decaf market, which is estimated to be worth just under $2.7bn. So, for the researchers, these next stages are crucial. Their cloned trees are set to be planted in different regions in Brazil.

从目前的试验结果来看，前景可期。如果他们成功培育出这类天然低因咖啡豆品种，就可以挖掘全球低因咖啡市场一个新领域的潜力，据估计，该市场的价值略低于27亿美元。因此，对这些研究人员来说，接下来的这几个阶段至关重要。他们的克隆树品种将被种植在巴西的不同地区。

However, we’ll have to wait and see if their genetic formula has worked, as it can take around two to three years for the first coffee cherries to appear. Only then will they be able to harvest, taste and see if the buzz, or rather lack of, around their experiment is real.

然而，我们要耐心等待，才能看到他们开发出的基因配方是否有效，仍需等待的原因是这些咖啡树可能要大约两到三年时间才能结出第一批咖啡果实。只有到那时，他们才能收获、品尝这种新型低因咖啡豆，并对结果作出判断，即该实验究竟是否不负众望，不论人们对实验结果期待与否。

词汇表

interbreeding （对植物）杂交培育
caffeine 咖啡因
promising 有希望的，前景很好的
tap into 利用，开发
cloned 克隆的
harvest 收获
buzz （人们对流行趋势的）兴奋，期待

阅读理解：请在读完上文后，回答下列问题。

1. What type of plants have researchers been interbreeding?

2. Why are the next stages of the research project crucial?

3. When will researchers be able to harvest and taste these new coffee beans?

4. Where will researchers plant their cloned trees?

答案

1. What type of plants have researchers been interbreeding?

Researchers have been interbreeding different coffee plants that are naturally very low in caffeine.

2. Why are the next stages of the research project crucial?

The next stages are crucial because if they’re successful, they could tap into a new aspect of the global decaf market, which is estimated to be worth just under $2.7bn.

3. When will researchers be able to harvest and taste these new coffee beans?

They will not be able to harvest and taste the beans until the first coffee cherries appear, and it can take around two to three years for these to appear.

4. Where will researchers plant their cloned trees?

Their cloned trees are set to be planted in different regions in Brazil.