美国有线新闻 CNN 美国进入"万物短缺"时代? 炸鸡竟然都难买

The shortage of workers in certain fields is part of the reason why certain goods are hard to come by.

某些商品难以买到，部分原因在于该领域劳动力短缺。

Who would have thought it'd be hard to get fried chicken? It is for KFC and some other restaurants like Buffalo¹ Wild Wings and Wing Stop.

谁会想到炸鸡会很难买呢？对于肯德基和布法罗鸡翅烧烤吧以及Wing Stop等其他餐厅，就是如此。

The prices they pay for chicken have gone up and a big reason is the groups that supply it are having trouble finding employees and keeping up with demand.

这些餐厅采购鸡肉的价格上涨，主要原因是鸡肉供应商很难找到为鸡肉支付的价格已经上涨，一个重要原因是供应鸡肉的集团很难找到员工，难以满足需求。

We've told you how bicycles, computer chips, ketchup² packets and lumber³ have been harder to find.

我们此前报道过，自行车、电脑芯片、番茄酱包和木材更加稀缺。

Same thing with steel, when the COVID outbreak started suppliers of these goods temporarily shutdown but demand for them unexpectedly went up.

钢材也出现紧缺，新冠肺炎疫情爆发时，这些商品的供应商暂时关门，但商品需求却意外上升。

So that caused shortages and price increases.

因此导致了商品短缺和价格上涨。

Rare earth metals are needed for everything from computer wiring in homes to lithiumion batteries

家用电脑网线、锂离子电池等各种产品都要用到稀土金属，

and while demand for these items is on the rise, their supply chains are somewhat unreliable.

虽然这些商品的需求在上升，但它们的供应链却不太稳定。

And it takes a long time to set up new mining operations.

而且开展新采矿作业需要很长时间。

Chlorine prices for pool owners are going up just as people start diving into the summer swimming season.

随着夏天游泳季的到来，游泳池业主氯气价格也开始上涨。

A big problem here has to do with a fire at a chlorine factory last August.

去年8月一家氯气工厂发生火灾，这可能也和氯气价格上涨有关。

But when we talk about gas prices, that brings us full circle back to a labor⁴ shortage.

但谈论天然气价格时，又把我们带回劳动力短缺的问题。

Companies say their just aren't enough qualified⁵ drivers out there to man the tanker⁶ trucks and that's happening just as the summer driving season gets underway.

各公司表示，有资质驾驶油罐车的司机不足，而这种情况恰恰发生在夏季驾驶季到来之际。

1 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

2 ketchup   

n.蕃茄酱，蕃茄沙司

参考例句：

• There's a spot of ketchup on the tablecloth.桌布上有一点番茄酱的渍斑。
• Could I have some ketchup and napkins,please?请给我一些番茄酱和纸手巾？

3 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

6 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。