VOA常速英语2014--加沙人民趁短暂和平之际购买必需品

 

When Fighting Eases, Gazans Line Up at Bakeries 加沙人民趁短暂和平之际购买必需品

GAZA CITY —

When there is a lull¹ in the conflict in Gaza, residents who have been hunkered down in their apartments rush out to stock up on food and other necessities. Probably the most important destination is the local bakery.

Mid-morning in Gaza City and people are queuing to buy bread at the local Hasouna Bakery. They have ventured out of their apartments during a lull in the fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters.

加沙的这个上午,人们正在当地的哈桑纳面包店前排队购买面包。这些居民是在以色列军队和巴勒斯坦武装分子冲突的间歇冒险走出公寓。

Employees work feverishly² to satisfy the demand for this most basic staple³. The customers are in a hurry. They don't know how long the calm will last.

工作人员们辛勤地工作以满足这一最基本主食的需求。顾客们则行色匆匆。他们不知道这短暂的和平会持续多久。

In the women's queue, Sohad al-Moghrabi waits her turn. She has to come every day to feed two large families, hers and her brother-in-law's that is living with them.

在女子队伍中萨哈德·艾尔·莫格拉比等待着轮到自己。为了喂饱她和姐夫2个大家庭她每天都要来这里。

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“I have a refrigerator in my house but it doesn't work. We used to have electricity three hours every day but now, nothing at all.I can't keep bread or any other food because it will spoil. So I have to go and buy everything every day.

“我家有台冰箱,但已经罢工。我们每天用电3个小时,但现在,什么都没有了。我不能留存面包或其他任何食物,因为会坏掉。所以我必须每天上街买东西。

Vegetables, fruit and other perishables⁴ must also be bought daily. Civil servant Haitham Katoa says he spends six hours a day shopping. But that is not the biggest problem.

蔬菜、水果和其他易腐烂的东西也必须每天购买才行。公务员海塔姆·喀拉表示他每天花6个小时用于购物。但这还不是最严重的问题。

“Everything is expensive right now because they bombed the factories and places where we get food.So prices have doubled for vegetables and fruit. But we are handling this. We will hold on.

“现在什么都很昂贵,因为他们炸毁了工厂和我们买食物的地方。所以蔬菜和水果价格已经翻了一倍。但是我们正在应对。我们会坚持下去。

Al-Moghrabi says she lives in constant fear.

艾尔·莫格拉比表示她生活在持续的恐惧当中。

“The future looks bleak⁵. The two sides need to reach a deal and make peace because I'm afraid for my children and their future.I don't want them to suffer this again. This war is taking too long and we cannot take it any longer.

“未来看起来暗淡无光。双方需要达成协议,和平才能到来,因为我担心自己孩子和他们的未来。我不想再让他们遭受这样的痛苦。这场战争耗时太长,我们受不了了。

The same is true all over Gaza. Survivors⁶ of the violence must meet the needs of daily life when they can.

在加沙地带也是如此。暴力流血事件的幸存者们必须满足日常生活的需要。

1 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

2 feverishly   

adv. 兴奋地

参考例句：

• Feverishly he collected his data. 他拼命收集资料。
• The company is having to cast around feverishly for ways to cut its costs. 公司迫切须要想出各种降低成本的办法。

3 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

4 perishables   

n.容易腐坏的东西（尤指食品）( perishable的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perishables are stacked on deck under cover, awaiting rigid inspection before they are struck below. 易腐物品已经覆盖起来堆放在甲板上，等经过严格的检查后再搬下船舱。 来自辞典例句
• Sorry, these perishables are not allowed to bring in. 对不起，这些易腐烂的东西是不允许入境的。 来自互联网

5 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者