Almost half a century has passed since agricultural scientist Yuan Longping developed the first strain of hybrid rice in 1970, and by the end of last year farmers in more than 40 countries had planted more than 7 million hectares of the crop.从1970年农业科学家袁隆平研发出第一株杂交水稻至今，近半个世纪已过去，截至2018年底，已有40多个国家种植了超过700万公顷的杂交水稻。

　　新中国成立前，袁隆平亲眼见到倒伏在路边的饿殍，十分痛心。选择农业报国，源自袁隆平想让大家“吃饱饭”的强烈愿望。

　　Yuan said he saw people die of hunger when he was young, and that has made him dedicate himself to increasing food production and helping combat starvation.

　　袁隆平称年轻时见过饿死的百姓，从此致力于增加粮食产量，抗击饥荒。

　　目前杂交水稻已经取得每公顷产量18吨的成就。但袁隆平并不满足，他表示，还要朝着每公顷19吨、20吨的目标奋斗。

Thanks to the hard work of his team, hybrid rice now has a yield of up to 18 metric tons per hectare.yield  [jiːld] ：产量

　　去年，袁隆平又在科学界创下了一个壮举，在沙漠里用海水种水稻，并且亩产超过了500公斤。

Yuan's team came up with a new high-yield strain of rice that can grow in saltwater paddies in 2018.paddy：稻田

　　袁隆平带各国朋友参观试验田

　　这是全球首次在热带沙漠里实验种植水稻取得的成功，为沙漠地区提升粮食自给能力，保障全球粮食安全和改善沙漠地区生态环境再添“中国贡献”。

　　Their experiment of planting saltwater-tolerant rice in desert areas of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates proved to be a success. It was the world's first successful case of planting rice in a tropical desert area, standing as China's contribution to improve the capability of people in desert areas to be self-sufficient in staple foods.

　　阿联酋迪拜的沙漠里用海水种植水稻的实验取得成功。这是世界首个在热带沙漠地区种植水稻的成功案例，为提升沙漠地区粮食自给能力再添“中国贡献”。

　　staple [ˈsteɪp(ə)l] n.主食

　　目前，袁隆平还在攻关遗传工程雄性不育系为工具的第三代杂交水稻，争取在未来几年时间内通过审定，进行大面积推广，并逐步替代三系杂交稻和两系杂交稻。

　　网友感叹袁老“活到老，学到老”，祝袁老健康长寿：