咖啡背后的故事 The story behind coffee

Hello, I’m Rob.Welcome to 6 Minute English. With me today is Neil. Hello, Neil.
大家好，我是罗伯。欢迎收听《六分钟英语》。今天节目的嘉宾是尼尔。你好，尼尔。
Hello Rob!
你好，罗伯！
In this programme we’re going to be talking about coffee.
今天的节目中我们要谈论咖啡。
Coffee? I’ve actually got one here in front of me, Rob.
咖啡？我面前就有一杯。
What kind of coffee are you drinking?
你喝什么样的咖啡？
It’s a skinny latte. And what’s that that you’ve got?
脱脂拿铁。你买的什么咖啡呢？
I’ve gone for a flat white today. Mmm. That tastes good.
今天我喝的是白咖啡。恩，尝起来不错。
Looks good too! The market for the world’s most popular drink has come a long way since the days of instant coffee, when we just added boiling water to some brown powder.
看起来也不错！咖啡是世界上最受欢迎的饮料。自从速溶咖啡出现后，我们只需要在这棕色粉状咖啡里加入热水即可。咖啡市场可谓取得了巨大进步。
Yes, that’s very true, Neil. After that came the giants like Starbucks and Costa Coffee who made coffee drinking trendy and a lifestyle statement. People are far more aware of what they’re drinking these days.
确实如此。之后咖啡界巨头星巴克和咖世家咖啡兴起，引领了咖啡饮用的潮流，传达了一种新的生活方式。如今人们愈发注重他们饮用的品质。
But Rob, I don’t think we should forget what lies behind the coffee we enjoy every day. It’s a hugely complicated business.
但是罗伯，我认为我们不能忘记每天享用的咖啡背后隐藏的故事。咖啡业是一个庞大而复杂的产业。
Yes, it’s the second biggest commodity in the world, after oil. That means the price of coffee is changing every day, every hour even, as traders speculate about the price.
是的，咖啡是世界第二大商品，仅次于石油。由于贸易者的投机行为，咖啡的价格每天浮动，甚至每小时浮动。
It means farmers in countries like Ethiopia, Costa Rica and Brazil are dependent on the deals that are made in commodity markets thousands of miles from their farms.It makes them extremely vulnerable.
这也使得像埃塞俄比亚、哥斯达黎加和巴西这些国家的咖啡农户，他们的生存要依赖于离家几千公里之外的商品市场上的成交额。价格的波动对他们的影响非常大。
Let’s listen to food journalist Sheila Dillon as she explains the impact of coffee markets on local growers. She uses an expression that means "has a big effect". Can you tell me what it is?
让我们来听听美食记者希拉狄龙是怎么解释咖啡市场对当地种植者的影响。她使用了一个表达来形容“影响之大”。你能告诉我是什么吗?
What happens in the coffee markets makes waves around the globe. Entire national economies depend on the price of coffee. It’s the key to whether individual farmers can provide for their families, face unemploymentand ultimately whether whole communities stay on the land or trek to the cities.
咖啡市场的波动会在全球引起轰动。整个国民经济都依赖咖啡的价格。个体种植户是否能够养活家庭，是否会面临失业，最终整个种植群体是能够靠土地生存下来还是退居城市，咖啡的价格都是关键。
She said "makes waves".This means "have a big effect".
她说的是“引起轰动”。也就是说“造成巨大影响”。
She also used the expression "provide for" their families. This means the farmer’s family have enough income to live comfortably. Good. Right. So what about our quiz question today? Neil do you know many cups of coffee are drunk worldwide each year?Is it:a) 38 billionb) 400 billionc) 950 billion
她还用了“养活家庭”这样的表达。这是指咖啡种植户的家庭能够获得足够的收入来过舒适的生活。好了。到我们今天的问题环节了。尼尔，你知道每年全世界消费多少杯咖啡吗？a) 380亿b) 4000亿c) 9500亿
Well, it’s going to be a huge number, of course.But I still think I’ll go for the lowest figure, which is 38 billion.
当然，这肯定是一个很大的数字。但我仍然觉得应该是最低的那个，380亿。
Well, we’ll see if you got the right answer at the end of the programme.
好的，节目的最后我们再来揭晓正确答案。
Now, the price of coffee has soared – that means gone up quickly – in recent years, Rob. Surely that’s good for everyone involved in the business? I believe the profit margins for coffee are among the highest in the world. I can’t see what all the fuss is about.
近几年来，咖啡的价格飙升，也就是说上升迅猛。这对参与咖啡产业的每个人都有好处吗？我认为咖啡的利润空间是所有商品中最大的。我不觉得这有什么大惊小怪的。
Well, Neil, just because the price is high, it doesn’t mean that everyone benefits. It all depends on how the profits are distributed. You see there are countless transactions between the grower and the drinker. A grower can have a really good crop, but the amount he makes stays the same – or can even fall.
价格高并不意味着每个人都能从中获益。这都取决于利润如何分配。在种植者和最终饮用者之间还存在数不清的交易。种植者也许收成相当不错，但是他们赚的钱总是一样，甚至还会减少。
Mmm, I see the problem.I expect most of the profits go to the commodity traders and very little to the individual growers of the bean.It sounds like the growers have no control. That’s what happens in other agricultural sectors.
恩，我意识到问题了。大部分的利润都流向了商品交易者，咖啡豆的个体种植者所得的利润就微乎其微了。利润的多少种植者无法掌控。在其他农业领域也是如此。
I’m afraid so.Of course, some people are trying to distribute the profits more widely and they have been having some success.
恐怕是的。当然，一些人尝试着更广泛的分配利润，他们也许能取得成功。
Yes, I heard about some small-scale projects where the company takes charge of the whole process from field to shop.
没错，我听说最近有一些小型项目，公司从种植到销售一条龙承包。
Yes, these organisations tend to farm organically. This is very labour intensive – that means a lot of people are employed – and it creates a lot of jobs for people within the local community. In this way they are not victims of market fluctuations. Let’s listen to Leo Virmani, who runs a small plantation like this in Costa Rica. What’s the verb he uses for putting the coffee in a box before selling it?
是的，这些公司倾向于进行有机种植。这是一项劳动集约型的产业，意味着要雇佣很多人。这也为当地增加了不少就业机会。这样，种植者不再是市场价格浮动的牺牲品。利奥维尔马尼在哥斯达黎加就经营着这样的种植园，我们来听听他是怎么说的。他用了什么动词来描述将咖啡打包销售？
For our plantation, the approach we have is to go through every step of the way - every step of the process - so that we grow it, we pick it, and we process it in the mill. Then eventually we’ll roast it, we’ll package it, and we’ll sell it as the small plantation we are. And that would allow us to stay or be profitable at the end of the day.
对于我们的种植园来说，我们完成咖啡生产的每一步。所以我们种植咖啡豆，挑拣并进行加工。最终，进行烘焙、包装、然后出售。这样可以让我们小种植园在市场中存活下来，并最终获取利润。
So, he used the verb "package", which means "put a product in a packet or box before selling" it.
他使用的是动词“包装”，是指“将产品放入盒子或箱子再进行销售”。
And he said his community can stay "profitable" – this means they can always maintain profits – or make money.
他说他们可以“有利可图”或赚到钱，“有利可图”指他们可以获得收益。
Well, it’s good to know that small growers can live reasonably comfortably despite what the world markets are doing. The next time I grab a takeaway coffee I’ll try to remember all the politics involved in the production process.
不管世界市场如何变幻，小种植者都可以合理地生存下来，这真不错。下次我带外卖咖啡时，会记得生产过程中涉及的所有政治问题。
Yes, me too. So, shall we have the answer to the quiz question now?
我也是。那么，现在我们来揭晓之前问题的答案吧？
Yes. You asked me how many cups of coffee are drunk worldwide each year – 38 billion, 400 billion or 950 billion. And I guessed 38 billion.
好的。之前你问我每年全世界消费多少杯咖啡，380亿、4000亿还是9500亿。我选的是380亿。
I’m afraid you’re wrong – the answer is actually 400 billion.
很抱歉你回答错了。正确答案是4000亿。
No way.That’s incredible.
这不可能吧。真是难以置信。
Yes, it’s an extraordinary statistic. Well, we’re almost out of time. So, let’s remind ourselves of some of the words we’ve said today, Neil.
这个数据确实很惊人。节目时间快到了。我们来回忆一下今天提到的单词吧。
commodity
商品
speculate
投机
fluctuations
浮动
vulnerable
易受影响的
make waves
引起轰动
provides for
供养
labour intensive
劳动集约型
package
包装
profitable
有利可图的
Well, that’s it for today. Do visit bbclearningenglish.com to find more 6 Minute English programmes. Until next time.Goodbye!
好了，今天的节目就到这。登陆bbclearningenglish.com可以获取更多《六分钟英语》节目。我们下次再会。再见！
Bye!
再见！