食物银行 Food banks

Hello I’m Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English.With me today is Finn. Hello, Finn.
大家好，我是罗伯。欢迎收听六分钟英语。今天节目的嘉宾是芬恩。你好，芬恩。
Hi Rob!
你好，罗伯。
In this programme we’re going to be talking about food banks in the UK.
今天节目我们要探讨英国的食物银行。
Yes, food banks. But what exactly are they?
食物银行。这到底是什么呢？
Well, you can find them all over the country nowadays. They’re part of a system where people who are struggling financially are given free food to cook or eat which other people have donated – or given for free.
如今食物银行遍布英国。囊中羞涩，食不果腹的人们可以在食物银行领取别人捐赠（即免费给与）的免费食物。
We mean that people in modern-day Britain are so hard-up– that means they’ve got so little money – that they can’t afford to buy their own food?It does seem extraordinary, doesn’t it?
现在英国的人们手头很紧，也就是说他们只有很少的钱，连买食物都不够。这真的很不可思议，不是吗？
Yeah, it does. Well, today’s question is about the people who use the food banks. So Finn, do you know how many British people are estimated to have used them?Is it…a) 15,000?b) 240,000?or c) 500,000?
确实。今天的问题就是关于那些借助于食物银行生存的人们。芬恩，你知道全英国有多少人使用食物银行吗？a) 15,000人?b) 240,000人? 还是c) 500,000人?
I’ll say 240,000, Rob.
我认为是240,000人。
Well, we’ll see if you’re right at the end of the programme.Let’s talk now about why food banks have opened up in the UK.
好的，节目的最后我们再看你回答得是否正确。现在我们谈谈为什么英国会开设食物银行。
Yes, well, I suppose one place to start is the financial crisis of 2008 which made a lot of people redundant– that means they were asked to leave their jobs by their companies – so they became unemployed.
我认为最初是因为2008的金融危机，很多人被裁员，也就是说被公司解雇，没有了工作。
Then there were the cuts to the welfare system in 2013 which added to the problem.
之后2013年福利系统削弱，使情况恶化。
Rising food prices themselves are another reason. And heating bills in the winter can be expensive. People fall into debt.You know, lots of things.
还有一个原因是食品价格上涨，外加冬天的取暖费用昂贵，人们负债累累。太多的因素促成了食物银行的出现。
And remember that it’s not just unemployment, Finn, but underemployment, too. There are some people on what is called zero-hours contracts and doing part-time workand they don’t earn enough money to buy some of the essential things in life.
不仅仅有失业问题，还有不充分就业问题。有一些人做着临时工或兼职的工作，赚的钱不够买生活必需品。
So there really are a lot of different factors, aren’t there.
所以确实有很多因素促成食物银行的出现。
Well, let’s listen to Steph Hagen as she explains how her food bank in Nottingham works. She uses an expression that means ’unlimited access’.
让我们听听Steph Hagen 讲她所在诺丁汉食物银行如何作用。她使用了一个表达来描述“无限制进入”。
People do not go to a food bank because it’s an open door, it’s an open shop. It’s a case of they go to it because they need to.And also with our food bank – we are an independent one, and we have limited stocks – so everybody who comes through our door has no income whatsoever.
人们不去食物银行因为这里可以自由出去，是一个自由开放的商店。人们来这里只有一个原因，就是他们需要。我们的食物银行是相对独立的，我们的库存有限，所以来我们这里的人都没有什么收入。
She said "open door". This means unlimited access.
她说的自由出入，意味着无限制进入。
And she said she had "limited stocks". This means ’a shortage of goods’ – there’s not enough food for everybody.
她说她们的库存有限。这是指“缺少食品”，食品不够分发给每个人。
But Rob, surely this food bank system is open to abuse as well? What’s to stop anyone just turning up and asking for food?
但是罗伯，这种食物银行系统不会被滥用吗？怎么阻止某些人天天去食物银行领取食物？
Well, there are checks in place and there’s a system of referrals.If a doctor or a social worker thinks someone needs to use a food bank – even for a short time – they can give them vouchers. Then they take the vouchers along to the food bank and they get handouts for three days.
有登记处，还有推荐系统。如果医生或者社会工作者认为某人需要食物银行，即便是短时间内需要，他们会给他食品券。凭借食品券去食物银行，可以领取三天的食物。
Right. So, I see. I’ve heard that everything in food banks is donated – that means it’s given for free. And churches and individual donors are the people who provide most of it.
我明白了。我听说食物银行的所有食品都是捐赠的，也就是别人免费给予的。教堂和个人捐赠者提供了大部分的食物。
Well, apparently, these food banks are a great meeting place for people who are lonely and depressed.The food bank volunteers then talk to the people who use them.
显而易见，这些食物银行聚集了孤独和沮丧的人们。食物银行的志愿者会与这些使用食物银行的人交谈。
Some of these food banks also run courses about how to cook well on a low budget. So it’s really not just handouts that these people get. It’s information as well.
一些食物银行还开设课程，教授人们如何以低预算做出美味的食物。 所以人们不仅仅能从食物银行获得食物，也可以获取重要的信息。
But because these people are poor they often can’t afford to use gas or electricity for cooking.So the food banks make sure they also provide food which can be eaten cold.
因为来食物银行的人们都很穷，没有钱支付天然气或电力来做饭。所以食物银行还得保证他们提供的食物凉着也可以食用。
That’s right. And I think it would be wrong to assume that the users are just scroungers – now that means people who want something for nothing – because there’s a loss of dignity and even shame attached to using these services and people would of course prefer not to have to do it. So, what food do they give out, Rob?
没错。我认为假设使用食物银行的人是福利敲诈者是不对的，即说他们都是不劳而获的人是不合理的。如果使用食物银行就意味着尊严的丧失，代表一种耻辱的话，之后没有人会去食物银行。食物银行会分发什么食物呢？
Well, let’s listen to Steph again and see what she says.She uses an expression to describe canned food that only needs to be heated.
让我们再听听Steph所说的。她使用了一个表达，描述只需加热就可食用的罐装食品。
Basically, we’ve got porridge.We do occasionally get fresh produce but it’s very rare, especially in the winter months. It’s a case of, it’s like, tinned fruit, tinned ready meals.What also goes into the mix, people don’t realise we have to give out ’no-cooking’ food parcels because people can’t afford the gas and electric...
基本上，我们会分发粥。我们偶尔会有新鲜农产品，但是很少，尤其是在冬天。通常会有罐头水果，罐头快餐。与此同时需要考虑的是，人们不会意识到我们分发无需烹饪的食品是因为他们付不起天然气和电力。
She said "tinned ready meals".This is canned food that only needs to be heated.
她说的是“罐头快餐”。一种只需加热就可食用的罐装食品。
And she said "goes into the mix". This means it’s ’part of the overall package’. She also made the point about the importance of giving out ’no-cooking’ food parcelsbecause some people don’t have the electricity or the gas to cook the food.OK, Finn. So, would you like the answer to the quiz question now?
她提到需要考虑的事情。这是指整体计划的一部分。她提到分发无需烹饪的食品的重要性，因为一些人付不起电费和天然气。好了，芬恩，想知道之前问题的答案吗？
Yes, please, yes. You asked me how many British people are estimated to have used food banks. Was it: 15,000, 240,000 or 500,000?And I guessed 240,000.
当然了。你问我全英国有多少人使用食物银行。是15,000, 240,000还是500,000人？我猜的是240,000人。
Well, sorry, Finn. I’m afraid the answer is actually 500,000. And some experts say that there are 13 million people living below the poverty line in the UK right now.
不好意思，你答错了，正确答案是500,000。一些专家表示如今英国有一千三百万人口的生活水平低于贫困线。
It really does show how food banks – even in a country like ours – are really needed. It does make you think, doesn’t it?
这就是为什么像我们这样的国家需要食物银行的存在。这值得思考，不是吗？
It does. Well, we’re almost out of time now. So, let’s remind ourselves of some of the words we’ve said today, Finn.
确实。节目的时间快到了。我们再回忆一下今天听到的单词。
OK.
好的
make people redundant
裁员
zero-hours contracts
临时工
open door
自由出入
referrals
引荐
handouts
分发的食物
limited stocks
有限库存
scroungers
福利敲诈者
dignity
尊严
ready meals
速食餐
goes into the mix
考虑其他事情
Thank you.Well, that’s it for today.Please visit bbclearningenglish.com to find more 6 Minute English programmes. Until next time. Goodbye!
谢谢。今天的节目就到这里。登陆bbclearningenglish.com可以查看更多节目。我们下次再会。再见！
Bye!
再见！