新奇事件簿 越南街道安装免费大米ATM机（在线收听）

A Vietnamese entrepreneur has come up with an ingenious idea to help hungry people in Vietnam. Businessman Hoang Tuan Anh designed an ATM that dispenses rice instead of cash. He arranged for the ATMs to be installed on streets in cities across Vietnam. Mr Anh said he was troubled by the number of people going hungry after losing their jobs in the coronavirus. An estimated five million people lost their livelihoods as a result of the pandemic. The "free-rice ATMs" have become so popular that Anh is arranging for more to be manufactured and installed. He told reporters that other businesses, sponsors and donors have offered to help fund his project, allowing him to extend the reach of the ATMs.

Mr Anh explained what was behind his initiative. He told the BBC: "I wanted to invent a 24/7 automatic dispensing machine providing free rice for people out of work following an ongoing nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus." Mr Anh estimated that his machines have dispensed around 3,000 tons of free rice to those in need. People are permitted to "withdraw" 1.5kg of rice twice a day. Many people are appreciative of Mr Anh's efforts. A mother who recently lost her job told the Reuters news agency: "I read about this rice ATM on the Internet. I came to check it out, and couldn't believe it came out of the ATM. I really hope the sponsors keep doing this."

一名越南企业家想出了一个帮助越南饥民的绝妙主意。商人Hoang Tuan Anh设计了一款分发大米而非现金的自动出纳机。他安排将这些ATM机安装在了越南各城市的街道上。Anh表示，很多人因在新冠期间丢了工作而挨饿，他为此感到困扰。估计有五百万人因疫情而失业。这个“免费大米ATM机”非常受欢迎，因此Anh正在安排制造和安装更多该款机器。他告诉记者，其他企业、赞助商和捐助者已经表示愿意为他的项目提供资金，这使他能够扩大ATM机的使用范围。

Anh解释了该计划背后的动机。他告诉BBC：“为遏制新冠病毒的传播，国家实施全国封锁，我想发明一款全天候自动分发机器，为因此而失业的人提供免费大米。”Anh预计，他的机器已为需要的人分发出了约三千吨免费大米。人们可以“提取”1.5公斤大米，每天二次。很多人对Anh的努力表示赞赏。一位近期失业的母亲告诉路透社：“我在网上看到了这个大米ATM机的消息。我就去看了看，我简直不敢相信大米是从ATM机里出来的。我真的希望赞助商能继续这样做。”