‘Preppers’ Have Their Day over Virus Fears

During a crisis¹, some people buy a lot of food and other products because of fear they will run out of them. This behavior is known as hoarding³. It can cause serious problems for other members of the community.

When people hoard², stores run out of some high demand products. Suppliers face pressure to replace what has suddenly disappeared. At the same time, people who want to buy commonly used goods cannot get what they need.

During an emergency, government officials advise people not to hoard goods. But some people have built up supplies of things like food and fuel over long periods in an effort to prepare for a future crisis. Curt⁴ La Haise is one of these individuals.

Friends of La Haise have made fun of him for years because he keeps an eight-month supply of food in his house. He also keeps enough fuel to power his generator⁵ for almost a whole winter.

But those friends who used to make fun of him are not laughing anymore.

That is because many people have been raiding⁶ supermarkets across the United States. People are worried that they will have to quarantine in their homes for weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak. Some Americans are buying as much as they can, leaving store shelves empty. Some foods and basic products including medicines and toilet paper are now hard to find in some places.

"Now my friends are like, ‘What should I do, what should I get?'" Curt La Haise said.

La Haise operates a gun and firearms safety training business in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. He added, "Prepping doesn't look so bad now."

Prepping is short for preparing.

Being prepared

The nation has a community of "preppers" – people who keep large amounts of supplies in case of a disaster. Now, their preparations seem like a good idea.

"We're not laughing. We're not saying, ‘I told you so,' when people are out there fighting over toilet paper and hand sanitizers," said Paul Buescher of Ohio. He is one of 32 members of a group that shares a farm where large amounts of water and food are stored.

Buescher told the Reuters news agency⁷ that he is now getting requests for advice all the time.

John Ramey helped set up a website for preppers, called The Prepared. It provides information about survival⁸ and emergency preparedness.

"Every single business that has to do with emergency preparedness is overloaded," Ramey said.

People who keep a lot of emergency supplies are often shown on television or in movies as people who also have many weapons. These individuals are often called "doomsday preppers."

But Ramey said that is not the case for most preppers. "The vast majority of this is ‘beans and Band-Aids,' not ‘bullets and bunkers," he said.

Jim Cobb is a disaster readiness adviser⁹ and directs Prepper Survival Guide magazine. He dislikes the idea of other preppers gloating about people crowding stores in search of disinfectant products.

But he adds, "...for once they're not laughing and pointing fingers at us."

The new coronavirus is at the heart of the drive to buy and keep large amounts of needed products. Most people who get infected, however, do recover. There is a greater danger for older adults with existing health problems. They may take a long time to recover.

Advise from experts and preppers

Experts urge everyone to take common sense measures like keeping a distance from people, wash hands often, and cover your nose and mouth if you sneeze or cough. If you think you are sick, stay home.

Preppers are offering additional¹⁰ readiness measures. For one, be ready to stay at home for two weeks and have a lot of food and water supplies saved. They say do not forget medicine and products needed for dogs, cats or other pets, if you have them.

Keep need extra toilet paper, but make sure you have disinfectant cleaning supplies, eye protection and protective¹¹ equipment like gloves.

Make sure your finances¹² are organized and you have enough money to pay bills for a period of time.

Finally, try not to worry too much, but pay attention to news and what is going on around you.

Words in This Story

quarantine –n. keeping someone apart from other so they do not pass on a disease¹³

outbreak – n. the sudden or violent start of something unwelcome, such as the spread of disease

shelf – n. a surface for the storage of oobjects

sanitizer –n. a cleaner that disinfects

vast –adj. very extensive¹⁴

bunker –n. a strong structure that is mostly underground that is meant to keep troops safe

gloating –n. to show in a selfish way that you are happy with your success

sneeze – n. a sudden, involuntary expulsion of air from the nose and mouth

cough – n. a sudden expulsion of air from the lungs

bill – n. a piece of paper showing the amount of money owed for the purchase of goods or services

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 hoard   

n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积

参考例句：

• They have a hoard of food in the basement.地下室里有他们贮藏的食物。
• How many curios do you hoard in your study?你在你书房里聚藏了多少古玩？

3 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

4 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

5 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

6 raiding   

对…进行突然袭击（raid的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• A 19-year-old man has been found guilty of raiding a bank. 一个19岁的男子被判抢劫银行罪。
• But Magellan sent disguised raiding parties aboard the Victoria and the Santiago and recaptured them. 但麦哲伦派出便衣搜查“维多利亚号”和“圣地亚哥号”，并收复了它们。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

7 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

8 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

9 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

10 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

11 protective   

adj.防护的，保护的

参考例句：

• A mother naturally feels protective towards her children.做母亲的天生要保护自己的孩子。
• We feel safe with a protective device in the house.我们因为家里有了防护装置而感到安全。

12 finances   

n.(pl.)财源，资产

参考例句：

• I need a professional to sort out my finances. 我需要专业人士为我管理财务。
• The company's finances are looking a bIt'shaky. 这个公司的财政情况看来有点不稳定。

13 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

14 extensive   

adj.广泛的，广阔的，广大的

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• The museum offers extensive facilities for study.这个博物馆提供了许多供研究的设备。