VOA标准英语--俄罗斯经济低迷 人们纷纷种植并分享食物

Russians Grow, Share Food as Economy Struggles 俄罗斯经济低迷 人们纷纷种植并分享食物

MOSCOW — 

Russia's struggling economy has plunged¹ millions of people into poverty as the Russian currency lost value and inflation soared. As prices have gone up, more Russians are relying on gardening to supply their food.

During Soviet² food shortages, gardening at traditional Russian country homes — known as dachas — was a matter of survival.

But with Russia's shrinking economy, even some modern families in Moscow are relying on vegetables from the garden.

"Our grandma has a dacha where she grows lots of things like cabbage and beets³,” said accountant Irina Bulozhenko. “I am cooking borscht right now and I am using our [her] beets and carrots. The onions are ours [hers]. So we are saving on what we have grown in summer. So that's why we don't feel it so badly."

For some struggling families, growing their own food is still not enough.

Russian volunteers run a food-sharing program to collect restaurant extras and distribute them to those in need.

"For my family, food sharing is very important,” said donation recipient⁴ Tatyana Golubyeva. “We spend now a lot less on food than before, when we did not know about food sharing and did not use it. Now we hope that we'll get not only bread, but some other food, as well."

For Golubyeva’s family, food donations have cut their grocery bills in half.

"I think that food sharing has a big future and big prospects⁵ in Russia,” said food-sharing volunteer Svetlana Kalmykova. “The main thing is to inform the public about it, so that people learn what it is and what is needed to be done. I think that many will join."

Meanwhile, Russians hope the economy recovers soon, so supplementing the high cost of food becomes less of a growing issue.

1 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 beets   

甜菜( beet的名词复数 )； 甜菜根； （因愤怒、难堪或觉得热而）脸红

参考例句：

• Beets are Hank's favorite vegetable. 甜菜根是汉克最爱吃的蔬菜。
• In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上，大麦，苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。

4 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

5 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。