英语听力—环球英语 1273 Food in Danger, Part 1
时间:2019-01-19 作者:英语课 分类:环球英语 Spotlight
英语课
Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight 1. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Robin 2 Basselin. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Fatima is a single mother in Egypt. She cleans homes for work. She earns about eight and a half dollars each day. With this money, Fatima must feed herself, her two sons and her father. She does not have enough money to buy much meat or fresh fruits and vegetables. So instead, she buys foods like rice, grains or beans. Fatima told the Christian 3 Science Monitor,
Voice 3
“The prices are so high that we eat anything that will keep us alive. We do not care for our health in the process.”
Voice 2
Fatima’s situation is not uncommon 4. The recent rise in global food prices has affected 5 many people. It has made it difficult for many people to buy food. It is even more difficult to buy healthy food. Today's Spotlight is the first program in a series on the effects of rising food prices and how we can respond.
Voice 1
In the past few years, many countries have experienced 6 extreme weather. The countries of China, Russia and Argentina have had a lack of rain. As a result, they have grown less wheat. Too much rain in the country of Australia made it difficult for wheat and sugar crops to grow. Cold weather in the United States killed many corn crops. Similar weather problems all over the world have affected crops like wheat, corn, sugar and oil. Production of these foods is much lower than normal. This is one reason global food prices have increased.
Voice 2
Extreme weather may be the easiest reason to understand. But it is not the only reason. The economic and social policies of governments and international organizations also affect food prices. And while food supplies are decreasing, the population around the world is increasing. In 1960 there were about 3,000,000,000 people in the world. Only 50 years later, in 2011 there are now almost 7,000,000,000 people.
Voice 1
The result is rising food prices. And this makes it more difficult for people like Fatima to feed their families. However, Fatima’s family makes more money than 40% of the people in her country. This is because 40% of Egypt’s 80,000,000 people support their families with only two dollars a day. And around the world, more than 2,000,000,000 people survive on this same amount. That is almost one third of the whole world population.
Voice 2
Poorer families spend more than half of their wages on food. Already these families have very little money left for things like housing 7, clothes or school. When food prices rise, these families experience the effects much more quickly. World Bank research shows that as food prices rise, more people live in poverty.
Voice 1
Abdolreza Abbassian is the lead economist 8 with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. He studies the world’s economy. He told the news organization NPR that if food prices stay high, there is a high chance that prices for other necessary things will increase as well. This will affect even more countries, including very poor countries. He added,
Voice 4
“But for poor families it is not a matter of buying less things, it is a matter of cutting out a meal. And that is very dangerous.”
Voice 2
Poverty often leads to malnutrition 9. People cannot buy the food they need to keep their bodies healthy. In general poorer families eat less food. Less food means less energy for normal activities.
Voice 1
But poorer families also buy foods that cost less money. Usually, food that costs less money does not have as many good nutrients 10. For example, Fatima does not often purchase vegetables because they cost too much money. But the human body needs the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients found in vegetables.
Voice 2
Isabel lives near Mexico City. In early 2011, the price of food in her area increased by 30%. Now, she walks 30 minutes through hills in order to find food that costs less money. Isabel told the Christian Science Monitor,
Voice 5
“Sometimes, you do not buy the food because you just do not have the money.”
Voice 1
But not eating meals means Isabel and her family risk malnutrition. And when the body does not have the right amount of nutrients, it cannot work well. It does not have all the energy it needs. The body is weaker. It is also more open to life-threatening diseases 11.
Voice 2
In fact, one third of all child deaths around the world are connected to malnutrition. With many other international organizations, the World Bank recognized the serious risk of the food crisis 12 on world economies. In 2008 it set up a program to help countries with rising food costs. This program watches the problem, and gives information to governments and non-government organizations. It runs programs to help farmers. But it also does things like helping 13 people learn about nutrition and healthy eating.
Voice 1
For example, the World Bank worked with the government in Madagascar to create a nutritional 14 program. In the country of Madagascar, almost 21,000 child deaths were linked to malnutrition. Once a month, women come to learn about how to feed their families and to learn about the risks of malnutrition. Women also have a chance to weigh their children and to learn how to cook healthy meals.
Voice 2
Governments and organizations will need to be a big part of helping global food prices stay low. In April of 2011, a group of world leaders met to discuss the world economy. One of their main concerns was the price of food around the world. They discussed how to protect the global economy when food supplies are low. They decided 15 everyone would need to help with the solutions to this problem – including poorer countries, growing countries, and even larger, less affected economies.
Voice 1
But local communities will need to be a part of the solutions as well. One way is for people to use the food they already have in the best possible way. This may mean people should try hard not to waste food. People can also learn about which local foods provide the best nutrition for the lowest price. Listen for another Spotlight program about simple choices that can help people get the most good from their foods.
Voice 2
Not every person is affected by the global food prices in the same way. Will people wait to help until the problem has spread to every country in the world? What will it take for those less affected by higher food prices, to help those who can no longer pay for their food?
Voice 1
The writer of this program was Corrie Haluga. The producer was Ryan Geertsma. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programs on the internet at http://www.RadioEnglish.net This .program is called, “Food in Danger: Part One.”
Voice 2
We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!
n.公众注意的中心,聚光灯,探照灯,视听,注意,醒目
- This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
- The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。
n.知更鸟,红襟鸟
- The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
- We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟,知道春天要到了。
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
- They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
- His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的
- Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
- Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。
adj.不自然的,假装的
- She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
- His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
adj.有经验的;经验丰富的,熟练的
- Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
- Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好,你比我更有经验。
n.房屋,住宅;住房建筑;外壳,外罩
- Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗?
- The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来,房屋的销售量日趋减少。
n.经济学家,经济专家,节俭的人
- He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
- He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家,自以为什么都懂。
n.营养不良
- In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
- It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。
n.(食品或化学品)营养物,营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )
- a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
- Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.疾病( disease的名词复数 );弊端;恶疾;痼疾
- Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
- The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。
n.危机,危急关头,决定性时刻,关键阶段
- 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。
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
- 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。
adj.营养的,滋养的
- A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
- The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。