万花筒 2008-07-18&-07-19 洛杉矶的快餐禁令

In South-Central LA, teenagers scarf down fast food on their way to school.

 

-For me, it's good. I know it's bad but I still eat it.

 

And a mother who's running late drives to McDonald's to save time.

 

-There's never er, eating place you can go over here, to buy, er, like organic food. OK? There's no Trader Joe's over here. I go all the way to Torrance to Trader Joe's.

 

That's 15 miles away in LA traffic. Critics call it "food apartheid."

 

-45% of the restaurants in south LA are fast-food restaurants. That’s a pretty shocking statistic¹.

 

Especially compared to the city's west side, where only 16% of restaurants serve fast food. City Councilwoman Jan Perry is pushing for a moratorium² that would stop any new fast food places from opening in South Central. She hopes to see more restaurants and grocery stores like the one about to break ground. If approved by City Council, the ban would cover 32 square miles, and some say that hurts small businesses.

 

-Cause' we think of the big fast food chains. What happens if I decide I wanna open a hamburger joint³ in that area?

Joe Hicks runs an economic empowerment group. He says fast food places provide jobs, and people choose to eat there because the food tastes good and doesn't cost much.

 

-So it's insulting to insist that government has to tell people what’s good for them or not.

The Health Department says more South-Central children are obese⁴ compared to other kids in LA County. Even though the chains have added healthier options to their menus, supporters of the ban are demanding more grocery stores and casual restaurants that serve fresh vegetables and food that' not fried.

 

-With gas price rises, it would be a lot more convenient if there was in our neighborhood.

They are probably gonna vote on the moratorium in the fall, and again, if it passes, it doesn't mean these go away, just means no new ones would be allowed to be built.

 

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.

 

1 statistic   

n.统计量；adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• Official statistics show real wages declining by 24%.官方统计数字表明实际工资下降了24%。
• There are no reliable statistics for the number of deaths in the battle.关于阵亡人数没有可靠的统计数字。

2 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。