新奇事件簿 孟加拉国洋葱危机（在线收听）

Onions are very important in Bangladeshi cuisine. The vegetable is a staple in the country's cooking. However, many people are finding it difficult to buy onions. There is a shortage of them, which means prices have rocketed. Many Bangladeshis simply cannot afford to buy onions. Bangladesh traditionally imports onions from its neighbour India. Recent heavy monsoon rains in India damaged a lot of India's onion harvest. This has made India ban exports to Bangladesh. The price of one kilogram of onions in Bangladeshi markets has risen from US36 cents to around $3.25. This is nearly a ten-fold increase. Bangladesh's opposition party has called for nationwide protests over the record prices.

洋葱在孟加拉烹饪中非常重要。这种蔬菜是这个国家饮食中的主食。但很多人发现现在很难买到洋葱。洋葱短缺意味着其价格飙升。很多孟加拉人买不起洋葱。孟加拉国都是从其邻国印度进口洋葱。印度最近的雨季大雨破坏了印度的洋葱收成，印度因此禁止向孟加拉国出口洋葱。孟加拉市场上一公斤洋葱的价格从36美分上涨到大约3.25美元，这几乎是十倍的增长。孟加拉反对党呼吁全国人民抗议洋葱高价。

The onion crisis is so serious that even the Prime Minister has stopped using it in her cooking. Sheikh Hasina Wazed said she is using onion alternatives in her dishes. A limited number of onions are on sale in several Dhaka markets at twice their usual price. Hundreds of people queue for hours to buy just one kilo. A 41-year-old English teacher said: "Even if I have to stand another two hours, I will do that. I can save some money. I have never seen onion prices this high." A Dhaka resident said a lot of people in her neighbourhood have stopped eating onions. She said: "It has been 15 days since I bought one kilo of onion." Many street-food sellers can no longer make their onion-based snacks.

孟加拉国洋葱危机非常严重，甚至连总理都不再用它来做饭了。谢赫·哈西娜·瓦吉德表示她在做饭时用其他食物替代洋葱。在达卡的几个市场上，数量有限的洋葱以两倍于平时的价格出售。数百人排了几个小时的队只为买一公斤洋葱。一名41岁的英语教师表示：“即便要再排两个小时的队，我也要买。我可以省一些钱。我从没见过洋葱价格这么高。”一位达卡居民表示她周围很多人都已经不吃洋葱了。她说：“我已经15天没有买一公斤洋葱了。”许多街头小吃摊贩也无法制作他们的洋葱类小吃了。