It's been a tough season for vegetable growers in Horowhenua, who are still battling to recover from the wettest winter in decades.Woodhaven Gardens owner, John Clarke has spent his life on the land and he's never had rainfall like it.

对于Horowhenua的蔬菜种植者来说，这是个艰难的季节，他们仍然在与十年来最湿润的冬季斗争着。Woodhaven Gardens的所有者John Clarke在这片土地上度过了一生，从未见过如此大的雨量。

tough：艰难的

battling：斗争

rainfall：降雨量

"This winter was probably the wettest winter I have seen in 38 years, and also along with the rain we had a lack of sunshine which made things very, very difficult."Woodhaven Gardens grow 22 different kinds of vegetables and employs 250 staff in the peak season.

“这个冬季可能是38年来最湿润的冬季了，降雨量大阳光少，使得蔬菜种植非常困难。” Woodhaven Gardens种植了22种不同蔬菜，旺季雇佣250名工人工作。

a lack of：缺少

peak season：旺季

Clarke estimated he lost approximately 20-30 per cent yield across all crops, and said quality dropped too.And although the ground has now dried up, earlier this year it was virtually underwater with MetService figures showing three times the average monthly rainfall in April and double the average in August.

Clarke预计所有作物的产量都会减少20—30%，质量也会下降。虽然土地现在已经干燥，但是今年早些时候还是泡在水里的，新西兰气象局数据显示4月份的降雨量是平均降雨量的3倍，8月份降雨量是平均降雨量的2倍。

estimated：估计

yield：产量

figures：数据

Asparagus plants are perennial vegetables and they live underground for 15 to 17 years before throwing up shoots."Most of those plants have been underwater for weeks and months and we have been very concerned about the health of those plants. We didn't even know if they were going to survive," Geoff Lewis said.

芦笋是多年生植物，他们在长出地面前要在地底下长15至17年。“大部分的植物都在水下泡了数周和数月，我非常关心这些植物的健康状况，不知道它们能不能存活。” Geoff Lewis说到。

asparagus：芦笋

perennial：多年生

survive：生存

The wet weather has been bad news for customers too, with slim pickings and higher prices at the supermarket.

潮湿的天气对消费者来说也是坏消息，选择余地少，价格高。

customers：消费者

slim pickings：选择余地小

But with better weather in the past few weeks, business is back to normal."Now things are good. Production is up and we are now able to satisfy the New Zealand customers, and the Japanese market as well."

但是过去几周随着天气变好，生意又重回正轨了。“现在一切都恢复正常了。生产量提升了，我们可以满足新西兰的消费者，也能满足日本市场的需求了。”

production：生产

satisfy：满足

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(责编：Bonny)