VOA慢速英语:Food Market Becomes Hub for Deaf Community

Almost 8 million Americans are deaf, or have 'difficulty hearing'. A food market in Washington makes a special effort to serve the needs of deaf people in the local community.
美国有近800万聋人，或是有“听力障碍”。华盛顿一家食品超市做出了一些特别努力来满足当地社区聋人的需求。

Thadeus Suggs is a cook at Union Market. He has no trouble taking an order from deaf customers. Communication is easy, because the 23-year-old is himself deaf and knows American Sign Language.
Thadeus Suggs是联合超市的一名厨师。他在帮聋人客户下订单时没遇到麻烦。沟通很容易，因为23岁的他本身就是聋人，又懂美国手语。

He began working at Union Market soon after it opened last year. He took a break from studying at Gallaudet University, just across the street from the market. Gallaudet is a university for deaf and hard of hearing students. It's programs are known around the world.
他在联合超市去年开业后不久就开始在这里工作。他从该超市街对面的加劳德特大学暂时休学。加劳德特是一所为聋人和重听者服务的大学。它的课程全球闻名。

Mr Suggs explains, with the help of Gallaudet interpreter Carolyn Ressler, what he likes about his job at Union Market.
Suggs先生在加劳德特大学手语翻译Carolyn Ressler的帮助下，解释了他喜欢联合超市工作的哪点。

"One nice thing is it is so close to Gallaudet, which by the way is the 'Deaf Mecca'. And with that, we are providing services to the Gallaudet community as well as the community at large."
“它离加劳德特大学很近，这很棒。顺便说该学校可是聋人的圣地。这样，我们就能为加劳德特社区以及广大市民服务。”

Thadeus Suggs can read lips and speak with people as well. His boss, Ross Mayhood, says that makes Mr Suggs a valuable communicator.
Thadeus Suggs能够阅读唇语，并跟人谈话。他的老板Ross Mayhood称，这使得萨格斯成为最宝贵的沟通者。

"He is probably the most valuable member of our staff. And he has been a big part of how popular we are with the Gallaudet crew."
“他可能是我最有价值的员工。他是我们在加劳德特社区如此受欢迎的重要原因。”

Mr Suggs is not alone, about 10 percent of the employees at the market are deaf.
Suggs先生并不孤单，该超市10%左右的员工是聋人。

Another deaf employee, Alena Francis, says dealing with some hearing customers can be difficult.
另一位聋人员工Alena Franci称，和一些听力正常的客户打交道可能会很困难。

"When they find out that I am deaf, it kind of throws them off a little bit. And sometimes they will ignore me and just walk away."
“当他们发现我是聋人时，会让他们有点不适应。有时候他们不理解我们，一走了之。”

Cary Barbin is a deaf customer at Union Market. He explains through a interpreter what he likes about it.
Cary Barbin是联合超市的一位聋人顾客。他通过手语翻译解释了他喜欢这家超市什么。

"I love the fact that this is a sign language environment. Many of the employees sign, so I can order my food in American Sign Language."
“我喜欢这里的手语环境。许多员工打手语，所以我就能用美国手语购买食物。”

The market's user-friendly design also appeals to the deaf community.
该超市的人性化设计也吸引了聋人社区。

Gallaudet planning director Hansel Bauman urged the developer to build a 'deaf space', a space design to meet the needs of Deaf people.
加劳德特大学策划总监Hansel Bauman呼吁开发者建造一个聋人空间，以满足聋人需求的设计。

"In terms of visual language, [they want] to be able to see one another and communicate clearly while they are walking. What that means is, you're not looking at the path forward. So you need a little bit more room."
“在视觉语言方面，他们希望在行走时能够看到彼此清晰沟通。这意味着不用考虑前面的路，所以你需要更多一点空间。”

Union Market has lots of light, all the food sellers are in one big space, and the walkways between them are wider than you would find in many other stores.
联合超市装有大量的灯，所有的食品销售人员都在一个大的空间，他们之间的过道比你在其它许多商店看到的都要宽。

Developer Steve Boyle says those features also have a wider objective.
开发者Steve Boyle称，这些功能还有一个更大的目标。

"The market itself really was meant to be an anchor for the community."
“该超市本身就想为聋人社区服务。”