VOA标准英语2010年-Bangkok Businesses, Workers Struggle a

Thousands of Bangkok workers and hundreds of businesses have seen their incomes drop as protests have clogged¹ a central part of the city for weeks. And although the anti-government protesters have agreed to a government reconciliation² plan, it is not clear when they will leave the city.

Suchart Lapaparat pours out cups of hot, milky³ tea, dropping the liquid from the jug⁴ to the cup in long-armed movements. But there are no customers to drink it.

Suchart Lapaparat pours hot tea at his store inside the red shirt protest zone in central Bangkok. He says he is losing money from the protests.

His coffee shop is in the middle of the opposition⁵ red shirt's protest camp in Bangkok, and business is down. Office workers in this upscale area town are his usual customers, but many have been frightened off.

He says his earnings⁶ have dropped from around $60 a day before expenses to just half that. He has been forced to borrow $900 from relatives.

Suchart says he agrees with the red shirts' political demands, but the protesters have been here too long.

Protests cause loss of business, affect livelihood⁷

There are estimates that up to 100,000 people have lost their jobs or face bankruptcy⁸ because of the two-month long protests.

Thousands of protesters are camped in the middle of the Rajaprasong commercial district. Some of the city's biggest shopping malls and at least four large hotels have been forced to close because of security fears.

This week, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the red shirts agreed to dissolve parliament and call elections, but protest leaders vow⁹ to continue their occupation of downtown Bangkok until final details are settled.

At the nearby Indara massage¹⁰ shop, workers sit idle as music plays on speakers.

Receptionist Natthanisha Jankaew says the number of customers has pass dropped from more than 100 a day to about 10. Around 50 masseuses have been fired already and the remaining staff had their wages cut from around 450 dollars a month to 250.

She says she is angry with the protesters, who she says are wild and disrespectful people.

Across the street at the Super Rich money exchange, less money is changing hands.

Deputy manager Sukit Susamakulwong says trade has dropped 50 percent, largely because customers carrying cash do not want to walk through red shirt checkpoints.

"The red shirts, they have the guard or the body guard, they inspect everything the person who carry the bag and sometimes the customer," says Sukit Susamakulwong. "They put the money in the bag or in a packet, sometimes the red shirt bodyguards¹¹ want to check what's in the bag and that's the point for the customer, they're not sure for their safety."

Political unrest affects tourism, devastating¹² for long-term economic situation

He says one of the biggest problems has been foreign tourists being frightened by the risk of violence. At least 27 people have died in different incidents since the protests began in March.

"What they are doing right now they make the country in big trouble. We lost the customer, we lost the foreigner, who want to come traveling in the country and we lost the investor¹³ who wants to look around, invest their money in Thailand, and that's a big loss," Sukit adds.

The government has said it will offer help to people who have lost jobs and money due to the protests.

But across Thailand, the effects are being felt. Tourism, which employs two million people, is down, because travelers fear getting caught in unrest. The finance minister has warned continued unrest could cut economic growth by two percentage points - to about 2.5 percent this year.
 

1 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

2 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

3 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

4 jug   

n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂

参考例句：

• He walked along with a jug poised on his head.他头上顶着一个水罐，保持着平衡往前走。
• She filled the jug with fresh water.她将水壶注满了清水。

5 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。

6 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

7 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

8 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

9 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

10 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

11 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

12 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

13 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。