美国国家公共电台 NPR Venezuela's Bread Wars: With Food Scarce, Government Accuses Bakers Of Hoarding

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now to Venezuela, where an economic crisis has brought thousands of people to the streets. The demonstrations¹ have been growing since the country's supreme² court tried to nullify the Congress there. Food and medicine are in short supply. And as John Otis reports, even bread is hard to find now.

CARLOS COELHO: (Speaking Spanish).

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE³: It's 7 a.m. at the Latina bakery, and the bread-making begins. Carlos Coelho, who's run the bakery for 15 years, watches over his workers as they combine flour, water, yeast⁴, salt and margarine.

(SOUNDBITE OF MACHINE RUNNING)

OTIS: A machine then rolls the dough⁵ into thin strips that will produce the only bread of the day, about 500 French-style baguettes.

(CROSSTALK)

OTIS: Long before the baguettes are ready, a line forms outside the bakery even though it's raining. Coelho would make more bread if he could. But he's down to his last few 100-pound sacks of flour.

COELHO: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: "I need at least 150 sacks per week. But last week, I received just 26," Coelho says.

The flour is made from wheat imported by Venezuela's socialist⁶ government, which holds vast control over the economy. But due to a cash crunch⁷, the Maduro government is importing only about 25 percent of the wheat that the country needs, according to the Venezuelan Bread Makers⁸ Federation⁹. Maduro has a different explanation for the bread shortages.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: In a recent speech, he accused bakers¹⁰ of waging a bread war against the Venezuelan people. Maduro claims that bakers are hoarding¹¹ flour and using it to make more profitable brownies and cookies rather than bread. All this, Maduro contends, is part of a broader effort by private business owners to sabotage¹² the economy and bring down his government.

(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS BROADCAST)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: In response, officials over the past month have seized numerous bakeries and arrested their owners during police operations like this one broadcast on state television.

COELHO: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: Back at Latina, Coelho defends bakers. He explains that, due to price controls, bread must be sold at a loss, for about 20 U.S. cents per loaf. So like other bakery owners, he reserves some flour for pizza and pastries¹³ that he can sell at market prices to keep his business afloat. At midday, Latina workers pull the baguettes from the oven and dump them into bins¹⁴. The smell drifts into the street, and the people in line push forward.

COELHO: Cinco - uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco.

OTIS: Coelho allows just five customers into the store at once. In exchange for bread, two policemen monitor the crowd in case fights break out.

They're just starting to sell the bread now. People can come in here, and they can only buy two baguettes. They've waited in line for two hours, and they get two baguettes.

Even with bread in hand, the misery¹⁵ is not over. Another line forms at the cash register. Turns out, there's also a cash shortage in Venezuela, so shoppers pay for almost everything, even 20 cents' worth of French bread, with credit cards. Within 40 minutes, the baguettes are sold out. But it could be awhile before Coelho has any more to offer.

COELHO: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: As the crowd in the bakery thins out, he declares, we have no more flour to make bread.

For NPR News, I'm John Otis in Caracas, Venezuela.

(SOUNDBITE OF HAROLD LOPEZ-NUSSA'S "LOBO'S CHA")

1 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 yeast   

n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫

参考例句：

• Yeast can be used in making beer and bread.酵母可用于酿啤酒和发面包。
• The yeast began to work.酵母开始发酵。

5 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

6 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

7 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

8 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

10 bakers   

n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三

参考例句：

• The Bakers have invited us out for a meal tonight. 贝克一家今晚请我们到外面去吃饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bakers specialize in catering for large parties. 那些面包师专门负责为大型宴会提供食品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

12 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

13 pastries   

n.面粉制的糕点

参考例句：

• He gave a dry laugh, then sat down and started on the pastries. 杜新箨说着干笑一声，坐下去就吃点心。 来自子夜部分
• Mike: So many! I like Xijiang raisins, beef jerky, and local pastries. 麦克：太多了。我最喜欢吃新疆葡萄干、牛肉干和风味点心。

14 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

15 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。