英语PK台 第1045期:猪肉涨价…了解一下？（在线收听）

Dialogue 1

Jingjing: Hey Mark, what's that you're munching on?

京晶：嗨，马克，你在吃什么东西呢？

Mark: It's a kind of whole-grain bread.

马克：这就是一种全麦面包。

Jingjing: Yeah, but as you came in, I saw you take it out of a wrapper. Is it freshly baked?

京晶：哦，你进门的时候我看到你把它从包装袋里拿出来了。是现烤的吗?

Mark: No, it was baked almost a year ago. Yeah, here's the date on the package: December, 2018.

马克：不是，差不多一年前做的了。对，这是外包装上的日期:2018年12月。

Jingjing: It looks pretty fresh. Does it have preservatives in it?

京晶：看起来还挺新鲜的。面包里有防腐剂吗？

Mark: Nope. Just a little salt. I have to eat it within a few days after opening the pack.

马克：没有。就一点点盐。开袋后我得在几天内吃完。

Jingjing: Hmm. Cool idea.

京晶：嗯嗯。不错。

Mark: Yeah, I've stockpiled this bread, and will probably have more on the way, with double-eleven discounts.

马克：是的，我已经屯了好些这个面包，可能接下来还要再买一些，利用双十一折扣。

Jingjing: Let me try a piece. I might do the same thing. I'm not a big bread-eater though.

京晶：让我来尝一口吧。我可能也会买点。不过我不怎么吃面包。

Mark: Here. Take this piece. I haven't touched this side yet.

马克：来吧。吃这块吧。我没碰这半边。

Jingjing: Uh, it tastes alright. But I'm not crazy about it. Thanks for letting me try it, though. Hey, speaking of stockpiling, did you know the government kept tons of frozen meat in case of a price hike?

京晶：唔，吃着还行，但我不是很喜欢，多谢让我品尝。嘿，说到储备，你知道政府储存了大量的冻肉来应对肉价上涨吗?

Mark: You mean like the one we're having now?

马克：你是说就像我们现在正面临的情况吗？

Jingjing: Exactly. African swine fever broke out last year, and lots of countries were affected.

京晶：对。去年爆发了非洲猪瘟，许多国家都受到了影响。

Mark: I know a little about that.

马克：我只知道一点点。

Jingjing: Well, the Commerce Ministry has now put that frozen pork on the market, to keep prices from going through the roof. So, China isn't having too much trouble with meat supply.

京晶：嗯，商务部已经将冻肉（中央储备肉）投放市场，防止价格继续飞涨。因此，中国在肉类供应上并没有太多困难。

Mark: Big countries like China need to have policies like that.

马克：像中国这样的大国需要有这样的应对政策。

Jingjing: Yeah, Pork always gets freezer burn when I try to do that. So it's pretty impressive, what the Commerce Ministry has done.

京晶：是啊。每次当我想做猪肉来吃的时候它都有冻斑（肉因冻太久表皮变干），所以你看，商务部所做的应对工作真是干得漂亮。

Mark: You said it, Jingjing.

马克：京晶，你说得对。

New words : 习语短语

munch on (something)

津津有味地咀嚼；尽情地吃

– to eat

preservatives

[助剂] 防腐剂；保存剂

– chemicals added to food, to prevent it from rotting or spoiling

Stockpile 积累；储备物资

- to keep a very large amount of something, for future use

price hike 提价；物价上涨

– a sudden increase in prices

freezer burn 冻斑，冷冻食品表面干燥变硬

– when items in the freezer become dry from being in there too long

Dialogue 2

Jingjing: Mark, would you like to hear more about the pork industry?

京晶：马克，你想多了解一下猪肉行业吗?

Mark: Sure. I don't know much about it.

马克：可以啊。刚好我不怎么懂。

Jingjing: Do you know how long it takes a sow to mature?

京晶：你知道母猪长大需要多长时间吗?

Mark: Let me guess: 2 years?

马克：让我猜猜：两年吗？

Jingjing: No. Just 10 months. But that still means the declining number of sows is a threat to the pork market.

京晶：不是的。就十个月而已。但这仍然意味着，母猪数量的下降对猪肉市场构成了威胁。

Mark: I understand a lot of farms were closed. So, you're saying it might still take years for the livestock numbers to return to normal, right?

马克：我知道好多农场都关门了。所以，你是说牲畜数量可能还需几年才能恢复正常，对吗?

Jingjing: That's right. With depleted breeding stock, prices will go up and stay up as long as demand remains the same.

京晶：对。随着种猪存量的减少，只要需求不变，价格还会上涨并持续走高。

Mark: Well, that's basic economics. What's your guess—three years or so of unstable prices?

马克：哇，这是基本的经济学原理。你怎么看——三年左右的不稳定价格?

Jingjing: That's a fair guess. It's going to be tough. And there are many new rules.

京晶：挺合理的猜测。形势将会很艰难。而且还要遵循很多新规则。

Mark: I heard a lot of small farms were closed, while big ones have just gotten bigger.

马克：我听说很多小农场已经被关闭了，同时一些大农场的规模却越来越大。

Jingjing: That's been the industry trend for decades now. This outbreak just made it more pronounced.

京晶：这是近几十年来的行业趋势。这次猪瘟爆发使其更加明显了。

Mark: Well, that sounds interesting. It also sounds like companies are putting all their eggs in one basket.

马克：嗯，这还蛮有趣的。这听起来也像是公司们把所有鸡蛋都放在一个篮子里。

Jingjing: It's just cheaper to operate a few big farms.

京晶：经营多家大农场要经济得多。

Mark: Yeah, I guess so. And a big company could operate several big farms in different regions. That way, they'd be too big to fail.

马克：嗯，我觉得是这样。一个大公司可以在不同的地区经营几个大农场。那样的话，它们就足够大不会轻易倒闭。

Jingjing: Let's hope so. Anyway, there's always a place for small farms, even when it comes to pork production.

京晶：但愿如此。不管怎样，即使在猪肉生产方面，小农场还是有生存空间的。

Mark: Yeah, a small place.

马克：是啊，很小的空间。

Jingjing: Well, it might grow, once the market gets better.

京晶：好吧，一旦市场形势好转，它就可能会扩大。

Mark: I'll check the packaging more carefully next time I buy pork.

马克：下次买猪肉时，我会更仔细地检查包装。

New words : 习语短语

decline 减少；下降；衰弱；衰退

– when something goes down (decreases), typically over a long period of time

sow 母猪

– a female pig

Livestock 牲畜；家畜

– farm animals

deplete 大量减少；耗尽；使枯竭

– to cause something to run out (decrease in number)

breeding stock 种畜

– animals kept on farms for reproduction

industry trend 产业趋势

– a change happening over time, in a type of business