时间:2019-01-13 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2008年(十月)


英语课
For generations, traditional Indian sweets have been a customary gift during the main Hindu festival, Diwali. But tastes are changing as India globalizes - and chocolates, cakes or other gifts are replacing Indian sweets as the hot favorites. From New Delhi, Anjana Pasricha has a report.
 






A young boy colors earthen lamps before selling them in the market ahead of the Diwali festival of lights, on the outskirts 1 of Amritsar, India, 23 Oct 2008



Markets are packed with shoppers just days ahead of India's main Hindu festival, Diwali. Some people are heading to shops selling traditional sweets or "mitthai." They want to follow a custom that has been handed down generations - exchange a box of "mitthai" with friends, relatives, and colleagues.

The sweets come in dozens of varieties, mostly prepared with condensed milk and sugar, and flavored with spices such as saffron and cardamom.

But many other customers are passing by shops selling "mitthai." Instead they are looking out for chocolates, confectionery, household items such as fancy linen 2, or even the latest mobile phones and iPods.

In recent years, the allure 3 of sweets appears to be fading - at least for the wealthy. Suhasini Sood, 35, says she has stopped buying "mitthai".

"I think it is mostly change of tastes, and also to some extent changing social norms," said Sood. "It's more "done" to give chocolates, and or you know some other gifts instead of "mitthai.""

Vinay Aggarwal is partner in a popular sweet shop in Central Delhi. He admits that sweets are no longer appetizing for some customers. But he says it is only the rich who have changed their habits - for the masses, it is still a box of sweets.

"Only five percent of the upper crust, elite 4 of society, they can afford to buy chocolates or maybe whatever they want to buy, maybe gold, maybe whiskey, maybe anything," he said. "Not the common man."

However, the common man's wallet does not stretch as far as that of the wealthy. As a result, the changing trend has begun impacting sales. A survey by the Associated Chamber 5 of Commerce and Industry estimated that sales of sweets last year were down 40 percent from the previous year.

This year could see sales plummet 6 even further - partly due to the global financial crisis which is having ripples 7 in India as stock markets and property prices crash, and companies prepare for lower profits.

Aggarwal says sales have been hit.

"For those who were buying 200 boxes are buying 50 boxes, which is very necessary," he said. "They can't afford to do away with it."

Diwali is India's biggest festival. Companies distribute bonuses at this time so that employees can buy gifts both for families and friends.



n.郊外,郊区
  • Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
  • They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。
n.亚麻布,亚麻线,亚麻制品;adj.亚麻布制的,亚麻的
  • The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
  • Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。
n.诱惑力,魅力;vt.诱惑,引诱,吸引
  • The window displays allure customers to buy goods.橱窗陈列品吸引顾客购买货物。
  • The book has a certain allure for which it is hard to find a reason.这本书有一种难以解释的魅力。
n.精英阶层;实力集团;adj.杰出的,卓越的
  • The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
  • We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所
  • For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说,牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
  • The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌;n.铅坠;重压物
  • Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来,蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
  • Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌,其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。
逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )
  • The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
  • The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。
学英语单词
2'-phosphodiesterase
a cutie pie
abnormal focal length
aggregation of individual preferences
air inlet valve of dredger's deliving pipeline
air-guns
alcala de la selva
archeri
Ariquemes
assinie
Auberger blood group system
Banbayan Pt.
bar rack
be food for worms
between-class correlation
Brachypodium sylvaticum
calex
capon test
carbon steel
catch copy
Central I.
chantha
chromophobic
couchful
day disk
deformational stress
detonation point
deutscheland
drive out of
duramatral
echymose
Elephanta Island
expected yield
fadged
fermentation inhibitor
floating point unit
folded and grooved seam
go hard or go home
half titles
harker lines
hideosities
Higher bid
imperialls
insinuate
iris detachment
Jeans viscosity equation
lactocidin
lbgs
lead metasilicate
left atrium failure
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
lock cylinder
loi-cadre
M.H.R.
macromitrium ferriei
marie dolores eliza rosanna gilberts
membranogenesis
mesh side cutter
Minskian
nodes
nonitemized
normal congruence
observantially
order parameter
pachometers
papular pruritic gloves and socks syndrome
paroxysmal coliky pain
patent licence-agreement
Phulsāri
pioneering work
plain ashlar
plant ledger card
pork fillet
preconising
PSD (power spectral density)
ragtop
relish
residual valency
Santa Maria, I.
satish
scientific data processing
search and seizure
Seawater Quality Standards
sharpness of focusing
side-by-side
Simonart band
Sleepwell
smazes
spherochromatism
starch slurry
stop-and-direction-indicator-lamps
storage cathode ray tube
sweetkin
tabby-cats
teamkillers
tetracontagons
tip clearance area
Tossåsen
uppermost part
us sea
water ejection tube
you're a star