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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Onions now cost more than meat in the Philippines
In the Philippines, a surge in the price of onions has left people rationing2 the vegetable. The president, the weather and shady business dealings are all being blamed for the shortage.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
In the Philippines, the humble3 onion has been dubbed4 the country's new gold. One kilogram, a little over 2 pounds, is selling for almost $11. The global average is around a dollar 50. NPR's Julie McCarthy has been talking to Filipinos about how this daily staple5 has reached such dizzying heights.
JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE6: Eatery owner Armelita Rayos is whipping up an eggplant omelet. Paring knife in hand, she first prepares the ingredient that gives life to much of the Philippine cuisine7 - the onion.
ARMELITA RAYOS: (Speaking Filipino).
MCCARTHY: Customers tuck into her counter as she hunches8 over a cutting board, explaining how she's economizing9 in her cooking because the lowly Philippine onion is now reportedly the most expensive in the world.
RAYOS: (Speaking Filipino).
MCCARTHY: "We used to buy two or three kilos a day," she says. "Now we only use half of one because onions are 9 to $10 a kilo. And even then we just buy the small, cheaper green scallions." Her eatery sits on the perimeter10 of the cavernous Guadalupe Market in Makati City in metro11 Manila. Inside we pass the meat stalls...
(SOUNDBITE OF POUNDING)
MCCARTHY: ...Where the pork being pounded is about half the price of onions. Forty-five-year-old Leah Navarro has come to shop. This widow with five children tells us it would take her two days' wages in her job as a maid to buy a kilo of onions. She buys only sparingly, she says, and shrugs12 off the sky-high prices.
LEAH NAVARRO: The Filipina can adapt all the situation that happen, and then they think positive every day. That is the Filipina - they are strong.
MCCARTHY: So how did the price of onions become exorbitant13? Well, super typhoons hit the Philippines this past year, destroying crops. Poor planning delayed onion imports. Suspicion has also fallen on alleged14 bad actors who may have manipulated the market through hoarding15 and smuggling16. But vegetable vendor17 Joel Morasco says whatever the cause of the surge in price, there's a curious twist to the saga18 of this unassuming bulb. He says no matter the customer, everyone is opting19 for the cheapest, smallest variety.
JOEL MORASCO: Yeah, poor people and rich people here in the Philippines - level, same level.
MCCARTHY: You're saying everybody's the same.
MORASCO: Yeah, everybody same.
MCCARTHY: Whether everyone is the same or not, the blame game is on. The agriculture portfolio20 is one that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took for himself, having campaigned last year for a stable food supply. Critics, including patrons at the market, who voted for Marcos, say he's too busy as president to be running agriculture and needs to appoint someone else. Leonardo Montemayor chairs the Federation21 of Free Farmers.
LEONARDO MONTEMAYOR: People are wondering with all of these declarations about food security and prioritizing agriculture, how come the most basic of commodities are not readily available, or if they can be bought, they're priced beyond reach?
MCCARTHY: Senior economist22 for ING Bank of Manila Nicholas Mapa says that overpriced onions are only the latest in a string of shortages consumers have faced, and more are coming.
NICHOLAS MAPA: It's looking more like it's one commodity after the other. First it was pork, and then it's fish, and then it's sugar. Now it's onions. And now it looks like it's going to be chicken and eggs.
MCCARTHY: Because of expensive feed and the avian flu, he says. Mapa says getting reasonably priced food on the table is an urgent challenge. Philippine families spent a third of their budget for food. As the country's 8% inflation makes times even leaner, the House and Senate are baying to investigate the onion trade, and the national ombudsman says he's looking at price manipulation.
Amid the clamor, the Marcos government announced plans to import 21 metric tons of onions. Economists23 say it's the right decision, but come smack24 dab25 in the middle of the onion harvest, meaning a surplus of onions will be flooding the market.
Julie McCarthy, NPR News.
1 transcript | |
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书 | |
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2 rationing | |
n.定量供应 | |
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3 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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4 dubbed | |
v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 );把…称为;配音;复制 | |
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5 staple | |
n.主要产物,常用品,主要要素,原料,订书钉,钩环;adj.主要的,重要的;vt.分类 | |
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6 byline | |
n.署名;v.署名 | |
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7 cuisine | |
n.烹调,烹饪法 | |
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8 hunches | |
预感,直觉( hunch的名词复数 ) | |
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9 economizing | |
v.节省,减少开支( economize的现在分词 ) | |
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10 perimeter | |
n.周边,周长,周界 | |
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11 metro | |
n.地铁;adj.大都市的;(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国,主要经营零售) | |
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12 shrugs | |
n.耸肩(以表示冷淡,怀疑等)( shrug的名词复数 ) | |
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13 exorbitant | |
adj.过分的;过度的 | |
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14 alleged | |
a.被指控的,嫌疑的 | |
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15 hoarding | |
n.贮藏;积蓄;临时围墙;囤积v.积蓄并储藏(某物)( hoard的现在分词 ) | |
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16 smuggling | |
n.走私 | |
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17 vendor | |
n.卖主;小贩 | |
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18 saga | |
n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事,英雄传奇 | |
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19 opting | |
v.选择,挑选( opt的现在分词 ) | |
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20 portfolio | |
n.公事包;文件夹;大臣及部长职位 | |
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21 federation | |
n.同盟,联邦,联合,联盟,联合会 | |
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22 economist | |
n.经济学家,经济专家,节俭的人 | |
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23 economists | |
n.经济学家,经济专家( economist的名词复数 ) | |
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24 smack | |
vt.拍,打,掴;咂嘴;vi.含有…意味;n.拍 | |
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25 dab | |
v.轻触,轻拍,轻涂;n.(颜料等的)轻涂 | |
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