VOA慢速英语2021--在巴西，随着疫情援助的结束，数百万人又陷入贫困

In Brazil, a single mother of six children and the country's leader are almost neighbors. But Tatiana Araujo de Sirqueira and President Jair Bolsonaro seem to occupy different universes.

She lives beside a landfill along with 36 other families. Their shelters are less than a kilometer and a half away from the president's home in the capital, Brasilia. Sirqueira makes money by selling trash, or waste materials, for reprocessing.

She is one of an estimated 40 million Brazilians called "invisibles," or unseeable people. The term was created by Economy Minister Paulo Guedes for poor people who have no official employment.

"I live beside the president. I see him and his security (forces) pass by here every day," said Sirqueira. She talked to Reuters news agency recently at her small shelter on a hot, dusty day.

"How can he pass here every day and not see the families here?" she asked.

Last year, however, Sirqueira was not invisible. From April to December, she and some 66 million other Brazilians received money from the government's largest ever financial aid program.

Almost $60 billion was provided to the poor to help them survive the COVID-19 crisis. The emergency aid program decreased poverty and increased Bolsonaro's popularity.

However, the aid program ended in 2020 and the people it helped are suffering again. The poverty rate is rising again, and the president's popularity is shrinking.

Sirqueira depends on a government assistance program called the ‘Bolsa Familia.' It provides up to $36 a month, about one-third of the amount she received from the 2020 emergency program.

Last year's emergency aid program was about 322 billion reais, or $58 billion. A smaller, less costly¹ COVID-19 aid program begins this month.

But Sirqueira will not get any of that assistance. She has been dropped from the program, officials informed her.

"They said I no longer met the criteria² and so I can no longer be part of the program," she said. With six children to raise, she added that her life has gotten much more difficult since being denied.

Millions of Brazilians like Sirqueira were briefly³ lifted out of poverty. The research organization Getulio Vargas Foundation reports that Brazil's poverty rate dropped from 11 percent to 4.5 percent in 2020.

But now, the researchers say, about 27 million people, or 12.8 percent of the country's population, live below the poverty line.

As of March 31, Brazil's total population is about 213 million people.

Guedes, the economy minister, and other financial advisors⁴ expressed opposition⁵ to COVID-19 emergency financial aid. They say the program hurts Brazil's public finances and financial markets.

The smaller COVID aid program may not do much good, says Joao Saboia. He is a professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

"The prospects⁷ for 2021 are very poor, said Saboia, "slow vaccination⁸, a stagnant⁹ economy, rising unemployment and high poverty."

And Sirqueira faces even greater trouble. Local officials are pushing to move her family from Brasilia to a nearby city. She has resisted their efforts, worrying about how a move would affect her children.

But now, that resistance may be gone. On Tuesday, the government destroyed her shelter.

Words in This Story

landfill – n. a system of trash and garbage disposal in which the waste is buried between layers of earth to build up low-lying land

criteria – n. a standard on which a judgment¹⁰ or decision may be based

prospect⁶ – n. the possibility that something will happen in the future : an opportunity for something to happen

stagnant – adj. not active, changing, or progressing

1 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

2 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

3 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

4 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

7 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

8 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

9 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

10 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。