VOA常速英语2007-Undercover Video: Zimbabwe Food Shortage Erupts

By VOA News
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
18 October 2007
 

In late June of this year, the Zimbabwe government sought to curb¹ the country's rampant² currency inflation, admitting it to be around 7,000 percent.  Other say it is much higher.  The government embarked³ on an operation to control prices of all goods sold, slashing⁵ them by half or more.  Zimbabwe police officers were issued orders to throw business owners in jail if they did not comply and seize their businesses if they dared to shut their doors.

A correspondent for VOA, who must remain anonymous⁶ for security reasons, files this undercover report from Bulawayo.

It is early June in 2007, and prices in Zimbabwe are at an all-time high.  Instant coffee is selling for over a million Zimbabwe dollars a jar, roughly $2 U.S.  And a small bag of tomatoes costs around $33,000.

One shopper said, "One donut cost $16,000." But Zimbabweans pay the high prices, blaming the runaway⁷ economy and the worthless currency.

Abruptly⁸, the Zimbabwean government, through its state controlled media outlets⁹, claims it has found the reason behind the country's inflation.  It blames the entire problem on business owners, who it says have been profiteering.  

Government TV: "You are ordered to stop these things that you're doing here."

As the country's vice-president labels them "economic saboteurs," the government orders the prices of everything slashed¹⁰ by 50 percent -- deeper in some cases.  Police are issued orders to enforce the price cuts, and jail any business owners who refuse to comply.

The result is confusion -- as evidenced by our undercover video taken at a store in the second largest city, Bulawayo.  Hoards¹¹ of Zimbabweans rush to the shops to buy everything they can for the reduced prices.  They stand in lines for hours for the cheap goods.

But weeks later, in early July, the operation has lost its luster¹².  One butchery, whose refrigerated rooms were filled with meat at the beginning of the price controls, has now run out.  The owner cannot afford to buy anymore.

Closed doors.  Bankrupt businesses.  Thousands of business owners jailed, they cannot afford to replace their stock at the stipulated¹³ prices.  Inflation worsens and the people outside are hungry.

Video, shot from one of Bulawayo's high-rise buildings, shows a seething¹⁴, agitated¹⁵ crowd of people waiting for a delivery of sugar.  Fights break out, and eventually the riot police are called.  Across town, two people are killed at another shop by a stampede of people running to get sugar.

Back at the butchery, customers wait in line for a small ration⁴ of beef.  The owner had to close the doors for fear of a riot.  Patrons are only allowed in 10 at a time.  They shout at the shop workers, waving $100,000 notes.

Afterwards, we spoke¹⁶ with the owner, who wishes to remain anonymous. He said,  "If they come through, you're not going to stop them. Then what are they going to do when they get through, anyway? They are angry. Those people were screaming and shouting and only when the riot police came, and sorted them out, did they get into their queues."

He explained how the police, called to calm the crowd, pushed to the front of the line to get the meat themselves. "Because they are coming in first, buying the meat, and then they disappear and leave us with the crowd," he said. Officers also demanded free meat at other times as bribes¹⁷ to leave the shop owners alone.

The government claims the price control operation is a success.

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe said, "The prices must be affordable¹⁸ prices and the people will buy.  If the people are ill-treated by suppliers, producers and suppliers, we intervene as government."

In August, state media televised the nation's famous agricultural show, with Mr. Mugabe posing with farm animals.  Critics called this a 'crude attempt' to divert the country's attention from its real problems.

But the lines of people outside stores tell a different story.  In late September, faced with a hungry, angry population, some prices were allowed to rise incrementally¹⁹.  But many businesses simply cannot afford to stock shelves with goods people could not afford to buy.

1 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

2 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

3 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

4 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

5 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

6 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

7 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

8 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

9 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 hoards   

n.（钱财、食物或其他珍贵物品的）储藏，积存( hoard的名词复数 )v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She hoards her money - she never spends it. 她积蓄钱，但从来不花钱。 来自辞典例句
• A squirrel hoards nuts for the winter. 松鼠为过冬贮藏坚果。 来自辞典例句

12 luster   

n.光辉；光泽，光亮；荣誉

参考例句：

• His great books have added luster to the university where he teaches.他的巨著给他任教的大学增了光。
• Mercerization enhances dyeability and luster of cotton materials.丝光处理扩大棉纤维的染色能力，增加纤维的光泽。

13 stipulated   

vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的

参考例句：

• A delivery date is stipulated in the contract. 合同中规定了交货日期。
• Yes, I think that's what we stipulated. 对呀，我想那是我们所订定的。 来自辞典例句

14 seething   

沸腾的，火热的

参考例句：

• The stadium was a seething cauldron of emotion. 体育场内群情沸腾。
• The meeting hall was seething at once. 会场上顿时沸腾起来了。

15 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

16 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

17 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

18 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

19 incrementally   

adv.逐渐地

参考例句：

• Incrementally update the shared dimensions used in this cube. 增量更新此多维数据集中使用的共享维度。 来自互联网
• Grand goals are inspiring, but be sure to approach them incrementally. 辉煌的目标令人鼓舞，但一定要逐步实现。 来自互联网