The cattle should be ambling, grazing contentedly, through Robert Delgado’s fields. Instead, the animals slump(瘫倒，重重坐下) in the shade, tongues loll(（舌头）耷拉，垂下)ing, in futile attempts to(徒劳地试图) avoid the blistering(酷热的，灼人的) heat. Soon it will matter little whether their appetite returns, for there will be no grass left to graze.(用不了多久，它们的胃口恢不恢复都无所谓了，因为地里将不再有草可吃。)
这些牛本该在罗伯特·德尔加多的田野里悠闲漫步、心满意足地吃草。可如今，它们瘫在阴凉处，舌头耷拉在外，徒劳地想躲开灼人的酷热。用不了多久，它们的胃口恢不恢复都无所谓了，因为地里将不再有草可吃。
In Azuero, an agricultural region in Panama’s Arco Seco (Dry Arc), the summer is generally relentless(持续强烈的，毫不松懈的) and unforgiving. But this year, the crucial rainy season that precedes it – typically from May to December – has brought little rain to parched(干裂的，焦干的) fields. The watering holes, streams and rivers that farmers rely on have not been replenish(补充，重新装满)ed, and pasture(牧场，牧草)s – the vital source of animal feed during the dry months – have not regenerated themselves.
阿苏埃罗位于巴拿马的“干旱弧”（Arco Seco），是一片农业区。这里的夏天一向漫长难熬、毫不留情。但今年，本该在夏季之前到来的关键雨季——通常从5月持续到12月——几乎没有给干裂的田地带来雨水。农民赖以生存的水塘、溪流和河流没有得到补给，而牧场——旱季里牲畜饲料的重要来源——也没能重新长起来。
Delgado’s milk production has fallen by half. As the dry season approaches, he is selling off cattle for fear of(唯恐，因担心) what is to come. He says: “I and other producers have had to slaughter or sell animals of high genetic value simply to avoid the heartbreaking prospect of watching them die of thirst or starvation.(我和其他养殖户不得不宰杀或卖掉基因价值很高的牲畜，只是为了不让自己面对眼睁睁看它们渴死或饿死的心碎场面。) The lack of water has greatly affected us, and it is going to continue to do so.”
德尔加多的牛奶产量已经减半。随着旱季临近，他因担心接下来的局面而不断卖掉牛。他说：“我和其他养殖户不得不宰杀或卖掉基因价值很高的牲畜，只是为了不让自己面对眼睁睁看它们渴死或饿死的心碎场面。缺水对我们影响极大，而且这种影响还会持续下去。”