VOA标准英语2011--Charities Struggle to Cope With Rising U

Charities Struggle to Cope With Rising US Poverty

Recent U.S. Census¹ Bureau figures show that more than 46 million Americans now live in poverty. That’s the highest amount on record since the agency began tracking poverty rates in 1959. Additionally, about 50 million Americans are living without health insurance. The increasing number of people seeking assistance is a growing concern for agencies helping² the poor.
Gina Zbikowski says struggling to find a job while living on a meager³ disability allowance is not the American dream. “To me the American dream was owning your own home, owning your own business, having your own car, you know, living life to its absolute fullest. I can’t even do that now… I can’t even dream about that now," she said.
Gina’s boyfriend John Ohlerich works a part-time job with no health insurance. And he has epilepsy. “The prescription⁴ is really expensive, and I pay for it every month. When I don’t have money to pay for it, I have to rely on my grandmother. And so that’s money right out of my pocket right there because I have to have my medication, I have to pay for my doctor's visit, otherwise, I don’t want to die," he said.
One out of six Americans, like Gina and John, lives in poverty.
“Poverty is a struggle every day to decide if you put food on the table or if you pay your rent, if you can feed your children or buy them medicine," said Kim Perez, who runs the People Resource Center in DuPage County, Illinois. They operate the food pantry that helps Gina and John get by. “People who have led successful lives, who were educated, are now finding themselves in poverty because they cannot bring in enough, their unemployment benefits have ended and there are not enough federal, state or local programs, to be quite honest, that are available to help support their needs," she said.
With more people living in poverty, aid agencies find their resources stretched thin.
Lisa Mayse-Lillig is with Heartland Human Care Services, a suburban⁵ Chicago agency that tries to prevent homelessness. She says only a small fraction of those who need help get assistance. “The dollars just aren’t as plentiful⁶ as they used to be. So as those funding sources dwindle⁷, the need increases, and the differential between those two things just gets bigger and bigger," she said.
Gina Zbikowski knows there are limits to the help agencies can provide. She says she would rather have a job so she can take care of herself. “I’m hoping one of these days to get out of this, but things look grim right now," she said.
Zbikowski says unless something is done to reverse the unemployment rate, now just above nine percent, the lines of people looking for help will continue to grow.

1 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

2 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。

3 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

4 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

5 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

6 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

7 dwindle   

v.逐渐变小（或减少）

参考例句：

• The factory's workforce has dwindled from over 4,000 to a few hundred.工厂雇员总数已经从4,000多人减少到几百人。
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority.他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。