A cheap, portable dehydrator system

by Emily Matchar

Roadside food drying is still practiced in much of the world. Farmers and food vendors use the heat and flatness of the street to dry everything from grain crops like corn and wheat to seafood to fruit. But this method leaves food vulnerable to contamination（污染） from mold, air pollutants（污染物）, insects and more. Globally, more than a third of food is lost to post-harvest contamination.

roadside /ˈrəʊdsaɪd/ n. 路边（由road和side组成）
practice /ˈpræktɪs/ v. 经常做
vendor /ˈvendə(r)/ n. 卖家
flatness /ˈflætnəs/ n. 平坦（由flat加后缀-ness变成名词）
grain /ɡreɪn/ n. 谷物
wheat /wiːt/ n. 小麦
seafood /ˈsiːfuːd/ n. 海鲜（由sea和food组成）
vulnerable /ˈvʌln(ə)rəb(ə)l/ adj. 易受伤害的
mold /məʊld/ n. 霉菌
globally /ˈɡləʊb(ə)li/ adv. 在全世界（由global加后缀-ly变成副词）
post- 前缀，意思是“在…之后”
harvest /ˈhɑːvɪst/ n. 收获

An agricultural scientist at Purdue University aims to change that. Klein Ileleji has developed two technologies for drying food quickly and hygienically（卫生地）. The first is the Dehytray, a food dehydration tray with a protective cover that concentrates solar energy for faster drying times. The second is the Dehymeleon, a solar dryer that can hold 10 Dehytrays, and that can store extra solar energy for use as a power generator at night.

agricultural /ˌæɡrɪˈkʌltʃ(ə)r(ə)l/ adj. 农业的（由agriculture加后缀-al变成形容词）
dehydration /ˌdiːhaɪˈdreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 干燥
tray /treɪ/ n. 托盘
protective /prəˈtektɪv/ adj. 保护性的（由protect加后缀-ive变成形容词）
concentrate /ˈkɒns(ə)ntreɪt/ v. 聚集、使集中
solar /ˈsəʊlə(r)/ adj. 太阳的
dryer /ˈdraɪə(r)/ n. 干燥器、烘干机（由dry加上表示人或物的后缀-er）
store /stɔː(r)/ v. 储存
generator /ˈdʒen(ə)reɪtə(r)/ n. 发电机

"We found in 2010 that one of the biggest challenges faced by farmers was aflatoxin（黄曲霉素） in their grains, and the primary cause of that was improperly dried grains," Ileleji says.

face /feɪs/ v. 面对
primary /ˈpraɪm(ə)ri/ adj. 主要的
cause /kɔːz/ n. 原因、起因
improperly /ɪmˈprɒpəli/ adv. 不正确地、不恰当地（由properly加上表示否定的前缀im-）

Aflatoxins, produced by molds growing on crops like corn and peanuts, can kill if eaten in high levels. And low-level exposure over time can cause cancer and other illnesses. Higher income countries screen for aflatoxins but local growers in lower income countries don't have that luxury.

level /ˈlev(ə)l/ n. 数量、浓度
exposure /ɪkˈspəʊʒə(r)/ n. （无防护的）接触（有害物质）
over time 随着时间的推移
cause /kɔːz/ v. 造成、导致
income /ˈɪnkʌm/ n. 收入
screen /skriːn/ v. 筛查、检查
grower /ˈɡrəʊə(r)/ n. 种植者（由grow加上表示人的后缀-er）
luxury /ˈlʌkʃ(ə)ri/ n. 奢侈

The Dehytray, about 90 centimeters long, can be used in the sun with protective covers, or stacked inside a dehydrator for larger-scale drying. Farmers can use them to dry nearly any food, from fruit to grain to seeds. Because of the way they concentrate sunlight, the trays dry crops far more quickly than open sun, shaving up to a day off dehydration times.

centimeter /ˈsentɪˌmiːtə(r)/ n. 厘米
stack /stæk/ v. 堆叠
dehydrator /diːˌhaɪˈdreɪtə(r)/ n. 干燥机
scale /skeɪl/ n. 规模
seed /siːd/ n. 种子
shave off 减少（某个数量）

It's key that the dehydrators run on free natural energy, since many developing world farmers don't have reliable access to electricity. "If it takes energy and takes resources that folks don't have to use or to burn, they're not going to use it," says Gretchen Mosher, a professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University.★ "And it will just become one of those projects that the Western people come in and develop and then it sits there after they leave."

key /kiː/ adj. 关键的
run /rʌn/ v. 运作
reliable /rɪˈlaɪəb(ə)l/ adj. 可靠的
access /ˈækses/ n. 使用权、使用机会
resource /ˈriːsɔːs/ n. 资源
folks /fəʊks/ = people
biosystem /ˈbaɪə(ʊ)ˌsɪstəm/ n. 生物系统（由system加上表示生物的前缀bio-）
★ 这句话要在have和to之间断句，that folks don't have是定语从句，修饰之前的resources，而to use or to burn是两个不定式并列，表示目的
project /ˈprɒdʒekt/ n. 项目

Ileleji's dehydrators have been "really thoughtfully designed in terms of who's going to use this and why, and that's what makes it innovative," Mosher says.

thoughtfully /ˈθɔːtf(ə)li/ adv. 考虑周到地（由thoughtful加后缀-ly变成副词）
in terms of 就…而言
innovative /ˈɪnəvətɪv/ adj. 创新的

The needs of the poor in developing nations are often overlooked by companies, Ileleji says. In most countries it's easy to purchase a luxury car (presuming you have the cash), but difficult – until now – to purchase a simple device like the Dehytray.

nation /ˈneɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 国家
overlook /ˌəʊvəˈlʊk/ v. 忽视
purchase /ˈpɜːtʃəs/ v. 购买
presume /prɪˈzjuːm/ v. 假定、假设
device /dɪˈvaɪs/ n. 设备、装置

"How is it you can buy a Mercedes-Benz but you can't purchase a solar dryer?" Ileleji asks. "Technologies that are needed by people at the bottom of the pyramid are not available."

Mercedes-Benz 指奔驰汽车
pyramid /ˈpɪrəmɪd/ n. 金字塔

英文原文节选自Smithsonian
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/solar-powered-dehydrator-could-help-small-farmers-reduce-food-waste-180973221/