VOA标准英语2011--Rabbi, Imam and Pastors Defend US Food Subsidy Program

Rabbi, Imam and Pastors¹ Defend US Food Subsidy² Program

 

A group of Jewish, Christian³ and Muslim religious leaders pretended to be poor, as they went shopping in a Washington supermarket this week. Their aim was to protest proposed cuts to a government food subsidy program for tens of millions of Americans.

Rabbi Steve Gutow led the way.

An imam went down the cereal aisle⁴.

And a priest got some help with numbers from one woman assisting.

And there was a challenge - spend no more than $31.50. That is the average sum distributed by the government's Supplemental Nutritional⁵ Assistance Program. It is popularly known by its former name, Food Stamps.

The federally-funded program is for Americans living in what is known as "food insecure households."

How many Americans live that way?

"Forty-eight million of us. That's not 48,000, that's not 488,000, that's not 4.8 million. Forty-eight million of us who struggle under the threat of hunger every day," said Rabbi Steve Gutow of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

A group of Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders protest proposed cuts to a government food subsidy program for tens of millions of Americans, in Washington, D.C., October 28, 2011.

These clergy⁶ plan to live on the food stamp budget for one week. And they are calling on other Americans to do the same to protest proposed cuts to the program's 2012 budget.

Participation⁷ in the program has increased by more than 60 percent since the 2008 recession. Critics say the program does not reduce hunger.

Reverend Canon Peg⁸ Chemberlin used to live on food stamps and said Americans face a decision.

"Will we be a nation of compassion⁹, the one God calls us to? Or will we be a nation of greed?" asks Chemberlin.

Rabbi Gutow says poverty is not a popular topic for politicians.

"So they talk a lot about things that help the middle class. And they don't talk about things that help the poor," said Gutow.

But he said helping¹⁰ the poor is so ingrained in religious tradition that these leaders are left with no choice but to defend the food subsidy program.

1 pastors   

n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers? 我们有没有尊敬牧师、宣教士，以及主日学的老师？ 来自互联网
• Should pastors or elders be paid, or serve as a volunteer? 牧师或长老需要付给酬劳，还是志愿的事奉呢？ 来自互联网

2 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

5 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

6 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

7 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

8 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。

9 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。