VOA慢速英语2019 津巴布韦:面包成奢侈品

Bread Now Too Costly¹ for Many Zimbabweans

Bread has now joined the list of goods in short supply in Zimbabwe. The lack of bread has caused its price to increase. Now, citizens are forced to look for replacements³ to this simple food source.

面包现已成为津巴布韦供应短缺的商品之一。面包短缺导致其价格上涨。现在，市民们被迫寻找这种日常食物来源的替代品。

Bread now costs $2 or higher, about twice as costly as the usual price. Many people are getting used to having their tea -- a favorite morning drink of Zimbabweans -- without bread.

如今，面包的价格为2美元甚至更高，约是以往价格的两倍。许多人已经习惯了喝茶不搭配面包——这是津巴布韦人最喜欢的一种早茶。

Gibson Nhema now sells goods such as sweet potatoes and corn in place of bread.

吉布森·恩赫玛（Gibson Nhema）不卖面包，改卖红薯和玉米等商品。

He told VOA, "If we can get bread once a week that will be it. But we no longer miss it because it is now expensive. If the government would push the price of bread and flour down that would go well with our way of living. We have no cash. If it remains⁴ expensive, I will not able to buy dinner if I buy bread."

他告诉美国之音：“如果每周能吃上一次面包，我们就满足了。但是现在面包太贵了，我们不敢奢求。如果政府能够降低面包和面粉的价格，这将有助于改善我们的生活水平。我们没有现金。如果价格一直居高不下，买了面包就吃不起晚饭了。”

Food sellers⁵ like Nhema are doing well. But these are very hard times for those who mostly sell bread, like Alwyn Mutero.

像涅马（Nhema）这样的食品销售商处境尚可。但是对于像阿尔文（Alwyn Mutero）这样以销售面包为主的店家来说，现在是非常艰难的时期。

Mutero said, "There used to be lots of bread, but these days, people no longer buy like they used to do, because prices are going high. We used to sell this bread for about a $1, now it costs about $2.50. So people cannot afford it."

阿尔文说:“过去，面包很畅销，但是现在因为价格上涨，人们不再像以前那样购买了。以前这种面包的售价是1美元，现在是2.5美元。所以人们买不起。”

Mangaliso Ndlovu is Zimbabwe’s Minister of Industry and Commerce⁶. Recently, he said he found a company that could make bread using local ingredients⁷ to help ease² the shortage⁸ and control the price.

诺德乌（Mangaliso Ndlovu）是津巴布韦工商部部长。最近，他表示，他找到了一家可以用当地原料制作面包的公司，帮助缓解面包短缺并控制面包价格。

But farmers say they do not have a way to produce wheat that is cost effective. They are calling on President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government to help.

但农民们表示，他们找不到生产成本效益高的小麦的方法。他们向总统埃默森·姆南加古瓦政府寻求帮助。

Ben Gilpin is with the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union. He says that, among other things, farmers must have a fair price to cover their production costs. He adds that farmers must have the knowledge and tools to help the farming industry grow.

本·吉尔平（Ben Gilpin）就职于津巴布韦商业农民联盟。他说，除此之外，农民必须有一个公平的价格来支付他们的生产成本。他补充说，农民必须具备帮助农业发展的知识和工具。

Government and industry officials continue their search for an answer to the shortage. Meanwhile, Zimbabweans like Gibson Nhema keep thinking of other foods to take the place of something as simple as their daily bread.

政府和相关行业官员继续寻找面包短缺问题的解决方案。与此同时，像吉布森·恩赫玛这样的津巴布韦人一直在思考用其他食物来代替他们日常吃的面包。

Words in This Story

afford – v. to be able to pay for something

expensive – adj. costing a lot of money

ingredients – n. the things that are used to make a food or product

1 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

2 ease   

n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松

参考例句：

• His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
• You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。

3 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 sellers   

n.卖者( seller的名词复数 )；卖方；销售者；销售商

参考例句：

• buyers and sellers transacting business 进行交易的买方和卖方
• All manner of hawkers and street sellers were plying their trade. 形形色色的沿街小贩都在做着自己的买卖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 commerce   

n.商业，贸易；社交

参考例句：

• Commerce binds the two countries together.贸易把这两国结合在一起。
• They drew up plans aimed at expanding commerce.他们拟定了发展商业的计划。

7 ingredients   

n.（混合物的）组成部分( ingredient的名词复数 )；（烹调的）原料；（构成）要素；因素

参考例句：

• All ingredients are readily available from your local store. 所有的原料都可以方便地从你当地的商店买到。
• We never use second quality ingredients to build building. 我们决不使用次等材料用于建筑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。