美国有线新闻 CNN 古巴实施紧缺物资配给 应对食品短缺

 

First topic today on CNN 10 concerns chicken, eggs and soap, three items available right now at practically any grocery store in America but much harder to come by and afford in a country just 90 miles from U.S. soil. Cuba has a food shortage. The Caribbean nation's communist government has put what it calls regulations, which are rations¹, on meats and cleaning products. The reason? There are fewer of them on the island and the government says it's trying to make sure what is available is distributed equally. Cuba imports 2/3 of its food from other countries. And its economy has been heavily influenced by what happens abroad.

For instance, Cuba used to be supported by the former Soviet² Union. But that support ended in 1990 when the communist block was getting ready to collapse³. That sent Cuba into a depression. By the end of the '90s , things were getting better for Cuba's economy. And that was thanks to oil provided by Venezuela. But as that country's economy has crumbled⁴ in recent years, those oil supplies have dried up. And so once again Cuba may be facing a crisis.

The country has voiced support for the Venezuelan government. And that's resulted in economic penalties from the United States which opposes Venezuela's government. How bad could things get for Cuba? The nation's communist party leader recently indicated that conditions probably won't be as difficult as they were in the early and mid⁵ '90s, but that his nation had to be ready for the worst.

1 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

5 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。