Cutting down, eating up（在线收听） |
| Cutting down, eating upJackie: Hello, welcome to 6 minute English! I’m Jackie Dalton, with me isNeil Edgeller – hello! Neil: Hello! Jackie: Today we’ll be looking at how changes in the economy are affecting what people eat. As we do this, we’ll look at the language of moneyand economies. First, a tricky question for you Neil… The word‘economy’ comes from the Ancient Greek word, ‘oikonomia’. What,literally, did the term ‘oikonomia’ mean? Was ita) the practice of making money and wealth move aroundb) management of a householdc) saving as much money as possibleNeil: (answers)Jackie: We’ll find out if you’re right at the end of the programme. Now,Britain is currently officially in recession – now that’s a word we’vebeen hearing every day for many weeks, now…Neil: Yes, a recession is a period of reduced economic activity: often duringa recession many people lose their jobs, businesses find it moredifficult to survive, there’s less trade. Britain is in a recession at themoment and so the economy is suffering. Jackie: We hear other related terms like ‘economic slowdown’ which isn’tquite as serious as a recession, but it’s a time when the economy isn’tdoing so well - an economic slowdown. Neil: Yes, a similar expression is ‘an economic downturn’. Or you could saythere’s ‘a slump’ in the economy. Jackie: Of course, a recession may have all kinds of effects on people,including the obvious effects such as people losing their jobs or beingunable to find work, but it’s also having an effect on what we eat. Inwhat way? Are we eating better or worse? Listen to our New Yorkcorrespondent Mathew Price to find out. Mathew PriceAs customers cut down on spending there's evidence that they're also changing whatthey buy. Shifting from the stuff that's good for them ... <crunch> ... And insteadmunching away <crunch> on fast food. Neil: Well it would seem we’re not eating so healthily, instead, we’re eatingmore fast food. Jackie: Yes, Mathew talked about people cutting down on spending. Neil: Yes, ‘cut down’ is a handy phrase for talking about things that we startto do less. My friend Pete, is trying to cut down on smoking, becausehe knows it’s bad for him. People are cutting down on spendingbecause they need to save money. Jackie: So as people cut down on spending, they’re also changing what theyeat and eating less healthy food. Is that what you’re doing Neil? Neil: (answers)Jackie: You’re listening to bbclearningenglish.com. Listen to this next clip,where we’ll hear Mathew go on to talk about how the changes in whatpeople are eating are affecting certain businesses. Which business? Mathew PriceHence, the so-called recession beating companies. Like McDonald's. As with someother budget food retailers they're planning to expand this year. Helped in part by theattraction of their one dollar menu. Jackie: So the effect of people cutting down on spending is that certaincompanies, like fast food companies are doing well. Neil: Yes, Mathew describes these as ‘recession beating’ companies – firmsthat aren’t actually suffering from the recession. Jackie: And in this case, the recession beating firms are fast food chains, thatdo cheap food. Mathew used another word there to mean cheap…Neil: He used the term ‘budget’, which means low cost. A ‘budget airline’,for example, is an airline that offers services at quite a low cost. Budget food retailers are firms that sell cheap food. Jackie: And the figures suggest that certain budget food retailers are planningto expand – to get bigger. Neil: Yes, ‘expand’ is a term we might often hear when we talk about thegrowth of the economy or a business. When the recession is over,hopefully the economy will start to expand again. McDonald’s isplanning to expand this year – it wants to open more stores. Jackie: Let’s hear more from Mathew. He’s going to talk about a studyshowing how a lack of money affects obesity rates – the numbers of6 Minute English ? people who are seriously overweight. Does having less moneynowadays tend to make people fatter or thinner? Mathew PriceNot so many decades ago a slimmed down wallet meant a slimmer waistline（腰围）. To bepoor was to be underfed, and more often than not - skinny. Not so these daysapparently. A study in California has concluded that when poverty rates increase by10%, obesity rates also go up by 6%. Jackie: Neil, does poorer mean fatter or thinner? Neil: Well strangely – at least in the western world – nowadays less moneymeans fatter. Mathew says a ‘slimmed down wallet’ – in other words, awallet that’s thinner because it doesn’t have much money in it – doesnot mean a slimmer waistline. Jackie: Yes, less money actually means fatter. Let’s have a reminder of someof today’s key words and expressions. a recessionan economic slowdownan economic slumpto cut downbudgetto expandJackie: And finally, the answer to today’s question! Oikonomia means"management of a household". Goodbye for now, join us again soonfor more 6 minute English! Neil: Goodbye!（本文由在线英语听力室） |
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