VOA慢速英语--埃及足球运动员在危机中成为街头小贩

On a hot Saturday afternoon, Mahrous Mahmoud is busy. The professional soccer, or football, player is working up a sweat in a different way these days — as a street vendor¹. A vendor is a person who sells something.

At this time of the year, Mahmoud is usually on the field playing for Beni Suef, a team in Egypt's second division. But like many people in his country of 100 million, the coronavirus crisis² cost the athlete his job.

Before the pandemic, Mahmoud made about $200 a month playing soccer. He also took on some small, non-soccer jobs to increase the earnings³ with which he supports his three family members.

The football league was shut down in March. Officials had ordered a curfew and closed restaurants and stores. Mahmoud's team leaders told players to stay at home until they could return to play.

But staying at home was not possible for Mahmoud, or many others in the Nile River area of Assuit. His family has to eat.

So, now Mahmoud is at work at the market in Manfalut, a town 350 kilometers south of Cairo. He sells qatayef, a sweet food popular during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month.

The market has remained open throughout the pandemic.

It is a busy place. Buyers are in line to food for the meal that will be made that night. After sundown, Muslims will break their fast. Mahmoud's qatayef will part of the feast⁴.

Mahmoud returned to his hometown not long after the country's partial lockdown began. He looked for jobs but could only find work as a daily laborer⁵ in construction.

Before the coronavirus, Mahmoud said, he could find usual work in construction, making no more than $7 a day. After the crisis began, he had trouble getting even two days of work a week. Then came Ramadan, and the temporary job at the market.

In Manfalut, most of the townspeople are daily laborers⁶, so staying at home and keeping physically⁷ distant are not possible. In many rural and poor parts of Egypt, some people believe the measures to protect against the spread of coronavirus are worse than the disease itself. But, should the virus arrive in these areas, it could spread fast.

Like many other places in the world, the results of the pandemic have been bad for most of Egypt's citizens, especially in the south. Even before it hit, Egypt's economy was troubled. Before the outbreak, one out of every three Egyptians, or roughly 33 million people, were living on about $1.45 per day.

The 28-year-old Mahmoud is the oldest of two sons. His father is retired⁸ and has heart problems. Mahmoud supports his father, mother and brother, who live in one room of a three-story building. They share the building with six other families.

Mahmoud showed athletic⁹ talent from a young age. He started as a boxer¹⁰ in a local club, then moved on to handball, before coaches persuaded him to join the club's soccer team. By 16, he went professional.

"They told me I would be a good defender," said Mahmoud, whose teammates gave him the name Kompany.

Mahmoud helped his team to the top of its league, and he hopes to go into the country's top division. But for now, he will just have to keep working, even with the health risks. He has his family and another reason to save: Mahmoud's marriage will be next month.

"Nobody is immune¹¹," he said. "But those like me and my family have to survive."

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

sweat – n. the clear liquid that forms on your skin when you are hot or nervous

division -- n. a group of teams that form one section of a sports league

league – n.a group of sports teams that play against each other

feast – n. a special meal with large amounts of food and drink

construction – n. the business of building things (such as houses or roads)

immune – adj. not capable of being affected by a disease not influenced or affected by something (not used before a noun)

1 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

2 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• 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。

3 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

4 feast   

n.盛宴，筵席，节日

参考例句：

• After the feast she spent a week dieting to salve her conscience.大吃了一顿之后，她花了一周时间节食以安慰自己。
• You shouldn't have troubled yourself to prepare such a feast!你不该准备这样丰盛的饭菜，这样太麻烦你了！

5 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

6 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

10 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

11 immune   

adj.免疫的，有免疫力的，不受影响的，免除的

参考例句：

• I am immune from the disease,for I had it once.我对这病有免疫力，因为我已得过一次了。
• Be immune from corruption.拒腐蚀，永不沾。