VOA慢速英语2015 美国女童子军使用互联网销售饼干

AS IT IS 2015-03-09 US Girl Scouts² Use Internet to Sell Cookies 美国女童子军使用互联网销售饼干

Each year at this time, Girl Scouts of the USA raises money for its programs through cookie sales. Last weekend, girls across the United States were busy selling cookies for the fundraiser.

The girls went door to door in some neighborhoods or set up sales booths, stands, near the entrances of friendly stores. They sell chocolate-covered “Thin Mints,” shortbread, peanut butter-filled “Tagalongs” and other tasty treats.

More than two million school-aged American girls belong to the Girl Scouts. The youth organization seeks to build character and good citizenship³ among its members. It does this through a combination of service projects and outdoor activities.

Most of the group’s members are involved in the cookie fundraiser. So are more than 800,000 adults -- most of them parents of the scouts. Together they sell about 200 million boxes of cookies a year. That adds up to about $800 million in sales.

Each of the 112 scout¹ councils, or local groups, sets its own prices, averaging $4 a box. Each council also sets its own sales period, which extends from January into April.

Selling girl scouts cookies online

For the first time, the Girl Scouts are using the Internet to sell their products, a move that earned them praise from Fast Company. The media firm named the scouts in its Top 10 most innovative⁴ nonprofit groups for “showing girls technology is about more than texting.”

Marissa Driscoll works at the Girl Scouts’ New York office. She says it is too soon to measure the effect of online sales.  A Digital Cookie “finder” app directs buyers to sales booths, such as the one set up last month by Troop 2398 at a small market in Arlington, Virginia.

“Would you like to buy some cookies?” asked eight-year-old Olivia Shea. She spoke⁵ as she smiled and waved her arm across brightly colored cookie boxes. 

Nora Nowicki and Lia Musser, both 9 years old, worked on collecting money from customers. “Count one more time,” Nora urged as they put down dollar bills they had just been given. The mother of one scout motioned to the girls. “Thank you for buying cookies!” they said.

Money management and people skills are among five main lessons, or areas of education, connected with the cookie program. One side of each box advertises those skills, including goal setting, decision-making and business ethics⁶.

If a customer orders cookies instead of buying from a sales table, it usually takes a few weeks for the boxes to arrive. But this year, customers who order the most popular cookie, “Thin Mints,” might have to wait a bit longer than usual.  Some areas of the country have experienced a shortage of Thin Mints.

The Girl Scout website lists the five most popular cookies. After Thin Mints come Samoas, also known as Caramel deLites , follow by Peanut Butter Patties or Tagalongs , then come Do-si-dos or Peanut Butter Sandwiches, and finally Shortbread or Trefoils. Different names are used in different parts of the country.

Demand for Girl Scout cookies has been growing since the program’s earliest days.

It all started back in 1933, when the Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia Council sold home-baked cookies at a local company for 23 cents a box. Later, the Girl Scout Federation⁷ of Greater New York sold commercially made cookies. In 1936, the national organization began asking a commercial baker⁸ to manufacture the treats for nationwide sales.

Today, the Girl Scouts organization pays two companies to produce 12 kinds of cookies. They include two new gluten-free treats – Toffee-tastic and Trios – and Rah-Rah Raisin⁹, an oatmeal cookie with dried fruit and Greek yogurt-flavored pieces.

While the cookies are sold only in limited areas, the Girl Scouts recognize the cookie program’s influence worldwide. The website says the cocoa in Thin Mints, Samoas and peanut butter-filled Tagalongs comes from “conflict-free,” responsible sources.

“Our bakers¹⁰ are required to provide assurance that cocoa sourced for Girl Scout cookies is child- and slave-labor¹¹ free,” it says. “… Our bakers are also working with third-party organizations focused on creating a sustainable marketplace that rewards cocoa farmers who prohibit unethical practices.”

The organization has “a responsibility to provide leadership on the topic of slave labor and human trafficking,” it adds. “We are committed to using our powerful voice and brand wherever possible to affect change in this area.”

Scouting¹² is about leadership, top Girl Scout officials say. Last weekend, with all eyes on sales, a few girls may have been chasing a record set last year by Katie Francis. The 12-year-old from Oklahoma sold a record total of 21,477 boxes.

Where does the money from cookie sales go? After paying the bakers, all the profit, on average 65 to 75 percent of the retail¹³ price, stays with the local councils and troops. The money is used to support activities such as crafts, technology training, service projects, field trips and camping.

As the Girl Scout website says, “Every cookie has a mission: to help girls do great things.”

Words in This Story

fundraiser – n.  a social event held to raise or collect money for an aid group, political party or school.

sales – n. the act of selling something

character - n. the way someone thinks, feels, and behaves.

box –n. something to put things into; a container, usually made or paper or wood

ethics – n. rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally right and wrong

commercial – adj. related to or used in the buying and selling of goods and services

gluten-free – adj. free from gluten, which is a substance in wheat and flour that holds dough¹⁴ together. Some people have allergies¹⁵ to gluten.

1 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

2 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

3 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

4 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

5 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。

6 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

8 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

9 raisin   

n.葡萄干

参考例句：

• They baked us raisin bread.他们给我们烤葡萄干面包。
• You can also make raisin scones.你也可以做葡萄干烤饼。

10 bakers   

n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三

参考例句：

• The Bakers have invited us out for a meal tonight. 贝克一家今晚请我们到外面去吃饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bakers specialize in catering for large parties. 那些面包师专门负责为大型宴会提供食品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

13 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

14 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

15 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句