🎧 Audio
📖 Script
Farmers on the Sunshine Coast have had a challenging year due to a significant drop in the lychee harvest. However, they have found a creative way to keep their businesses running. By developing a range of lychee-based products, such as freeze-dried desserts, ice cream, sorbets, and frozen juice, family-owned farms are staying open to the public for longer. These innovative products not only help offset the poor harvest but also attract visitors to the farms, boosting local tourism.
The lychee season usually brings in a lot of visitors eager to pick fresh fruits, but the recent poor harvest threatened this tradition. Instead of focusing solely on selling fresh lychees, the farmers decided to create value-added products. These products have become very popular among visitors, allowing the farms to maintain a steady flow of customers despite the fewer fresh fruits available.
One of the farmers, Sarah, explained that these products help them make full use of the lychees that are available. The freeze-dried desserts, for example, have a long shelf life, making them ideal for sales throughout the year. Additionally, the lychee ice cream and sorbets are refreshing treats that visitors enjoy, especially during the hot summer months.
By diversifying their offerings, the farmers have not only managed to keep their businesses afloat but have also created new opportunities for growth. This approach demonstrates resilience and adaptability in the face of agricultural challenges. The success of these lychee-based products has inspired other local farmers to consider similar strategies, ensuring that the community can thrive even when traditional farming methods face difficulties.
📝 Vocabulary
- harvest: the process of gathering mature crops from the fields（収穫）
例文: “The farmers worked hard to complete the harvest before the storm arrived.”
Collocations／日本語の意味を見る
- good harvest
- harvest season
- harvest time
- offset: to balance or counteract something（相殺する）
例文: “The company offered discounts to offset the costs of production.”
Collocations／日本語の意味を見る
- offset costs
- offset losses
- offset impact
- innovate: to introduce new methods or ideas（革新する）
例文: “The company continues to innovate to stay ahead of the competition.”
Collocations／日本語の意味を見る
- innovate relentlessly
- innovate products
- innovate solutions
- diversify: to add variety or different types（多様化する）
例文: “The farmer decided to diversify his crops to reduce risks.”
Collocations／日本語の意味を見る
- diversify investments
- diversify economy
- diversify portfolio
- resilience: the ability to recover from difficulties quickly（回復力）
例文: “The community showed great resilience after the natural disaster.”
Collocations／日本語の意味を見る
- build resilience
- resilience training
- resilience factors
✏️ Grammar Point
Present Perfect Tense – “Farmers on the Sunshine Coast have had a challenging year due to a significant drop in the lychee harvest.”
文法の日本語補足を見る
💡 使用場面
現在完了形は、過去の出来事が現在にどのように影響しているかを説明する際に使用されます。
📝 使用例文
“例: In a business meeting, you might say: ‘If we cut costs now, we can increase our profit margin next quarter.’”
❓ Listening Questions
- True/False: The lychee harvest was exceptionally good this year.
- MCQ: What products did the farmers create to attract visitors?
a) Fresh lychee salads
b) Lychee-based products like freeze-dried desserts
c) Lychee-flavored soda
d) Lychee-scented candles - MCQ: Why are the new products important for the farmers?
a) They are cheaper to produce than fresh lychees
b) They help keep the farms open longer and attract tourists
c) They require less manpower to make
d) They are popular in international markets
🔑 Listening Answersを見る
- False
- b) Lychee-based products like freeze-dried desserts
- b) They help keep the farms open longer and attract tourists
📚 Reading Questions
- What did the farmers do to adapt to the poor lychee harvest?
- Why do you think diversifying their products helped the farmers?
- What does “offset” mean in the context of the script?
🔑 Reading Answersを見る
- They created lychee-based products like freeze-dried desserts, ice cream, and sorbets.
- Diversifying their products helped because it attracted more visitors and allowed them to make more profit despite the poor harvest.
- Balance or counteract
🇯🇵 日本語での経済ニュース解説
サンシャインコーストのライチ農家は、収穫量の大幅な減少に直面していますが、創造的な解決策を見出しました。フリーズドライのデザートやアイスクリーム、ソルベ、冷凍ジュースなどのライチ製品を開発することで、農場はより長く開放され続け、地域観光も活性化しています。このような革新的なアプローチは、農業の課題に対する回復力と適応力を示しており、地域経済にもプラスの影響を与えています。将来的には、この成功が他の農家にも新しい成長機会を提供する可能性があります。
