VOA标准英语2009年-Some Japanese Families Face Hunger During

Aid groups say thousands of Japanese families are living under the poverty line. For many that means they cannot afford to put food on their tables. One organization is trying to fix Japan's hunger problem.

Helping¹ families in need
　
Shoppers check prices at a discount store in Tokyo (Sep 2008 file photo)

Volunteers at the Second Harvest Food pantry in Tokyo fill cardboard boxes with bread, vegetables and canned goods. The boxes soon will be sent to families living around the city.

"Our three main groups of people are refugees, single mothers and Japanese who are unemployed," said Ruby² Sakuma, the pantry's coordinator³. "Right now we have about 140 households we are serving. They get one package of food every two weeks, a total of six packages and when those six packages are sent we send them a letter saying this is the end, if they are in really dire⁴ circumstances then we sometimes renew their order and send them another six packages."

Hard to keep up with demand

Sakuma says during this year's global economic slowdown it has been harder to keep up with demand and fill their clients' orders.

Second Harvest is Japan's first and only food bank. Workers go to supermarkets, restaurants and other businesses to collect food that often, because of damaged packaging or other problems, would have been thrown away.

This waste is what compelled American Charles McJilton to help create the organization in 2002.

"Japan every year throws away about 20 million tons of food, worldwide food aid is only about 8.5 million tons. So over two and a half times the food that is delivered in the form of aid, is actually thrown away here in Japan. But at the same time, there is virtually no infrastructure⁵ in place within Japan to get those tons of food out to individuals out there who need it," he said.

Economic downturn has political implications

Japan was hit worse than many other countries in the global financial crisis. Exports tumbled and joblessness rose to its highest levels in several years.
　
A poster of Yukio Hatoyama, leader of Japan's main opposition⁶ Democratic Party of Japan, Tokyo, Sunday, 30 Aug. 2009

Some political analysts⁷ say the unemployment and economic distress⁸ that contribute to hunger helped Japan's Democratic Party win a landslide⁹ victory in recent elections.

Jeff Kingston, Asia studies professor at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, says many voters blamed the defeated Liberal Democratic Party for the nation's stagnant¹⁰ growth.

""There is a strong sense of disquiet¹¹, I think perhaps among some there is a sense of betrayal, the social contract has been sundered," he said. "I think in Japan there was a collective identity as a society where everyone is middle class, everybody shares the same fate, there are not huge, wide disparities of income. That myth has taken a pummeling in the past few years."

The Democratic Party, which will form a government later this month, pledges to help Japan's poor. During the campaign, the DPJ promised monthly stipends¹² of around $260 to families for each child attending primary school.

Denial of poverty

But Second Harvest's McJilton says that if hunger is going to be resolved, it will take more than new government initiatives. He says throughout Japan, there is a denial that poverty is a problem.

"Poverty or hunger are things that exist in different countries, not here in Japan. And even among those that quote, unquote may be hungry or poor, it's quite often viewed as 'they deserved it, they are not hard workers, it's not my problem,'" he said.

McJilton says since the downturn began, the number of their Tokyo clients has doubled. Second Harvest has also received more requests from around the country to dispatch food to shelters and other charities.

And they might get even busier.

Though Japan is now showing signs of economic recovery, economists¹³ say the long-term forecast remains¹⁴ unclear, as exports remain weak.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

4 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

9 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

10 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

11 disquiet   

n.担心，焦虑

参考例句：

• The disquiet will boil over in the long run.这种不安情绪终有一天会爆发的。
• Her disquiet made us uneasy too.她的忧虑使我们也很不安。

12 stipends   

n.（尤指牧师的）薪俸( stipend的名词复数 )

参考例句：

13 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。