考研英語(yǔ)美文賞讀（31）：為什么英國(guó)的食物這么便宜？

　　摘要：考研英語(yǔ)作為一門考研公共課，雖然大家都學(xué)了英語(yǔ)十幾年，卻仍經(jīng)常有總分過(guò)線掛在英語(yǔ)上的情況，因此英語(yǔ)復(fù)習(xí)不單單是單詞、做題。閱讀作為考研英語(yǔ)的大頭，僅僅做考研真題或許沒(méi)法滿足你的閱讀量，因此幫幫之后會(huì)不定時(shí)推出一篇英文美文，這些文章都與考研英語(yǔ)閱讀同源，多讀必有好處。

　　?Many Britons feel they have to watch the pennies after recent inflation rises and years of flatlining wages.

　　許多英國(guó)人覺(jué)得，在最近的通貨膨脹和多年的工資持平之后，他們?cè)谶^(guò)日子上不得不精打細(xì)算。

　　This extends to their supermarket shop， with four in 10 people reporting they are concerned about the cost of food.

　　當(dāng)然他們的考慮范圍也包括超市，四成人說(shuō)他們擔(dān)心的是食物的價(jià)格。

　　Against this backdrop， grocery giant Tesco has joined the discount retailers， which the launch of "value-orientated" chain Jack’s.

　　在這這樣的背景下，雜貨巨頭樂(lè)購(gòu)加入了折扣零售商的行列，推出了“以價(jià)值為導(dǎo)向”的連鎖超市Jack’s。

　　Yet in relative terms， the British grocery shop remains one of the cheapest in the world.

　　然而相對(duì)而言，英國(guó)的雜貨店仍然是世界上最便宜的。

　　Half the price

　　一半的價(jià)格

　　Britons spend an average of 8% of their total household expenditure on food to eat at home. This is less than any other country apart from the US and Singapore， according to data from market research firm Euromonitor.

　　英國(guó)人平均吃飯開(kāi)支占家庭開(kāi)支的8%，據(jù)市場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)略調(diào)查公司 Euromonitor 的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，除了美國(guó)和新加坡以外，英國(guó)是目前全世界在家吃飯開(kāi)支占家庭開(kāi)支比最低的國(guó)家。

　　Food spending varies considerably around the world. Greeks spend 16%， while Peruvians spend 26%. Nigerians spend the most on food in relative terms - 59% of their household budget.

　　根據(jù)這項(xiàng)調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，平均家庭吃飯開(kāi)支占家庭收入比在世界各地差異很大，比如希臘占約16%，秘魯占約26%，而尼日利亞高達(dá)59%。

　　The food consumed in the UK is also the cheapest in Western Europe - costing 8% less than the EU average， according to EU statistical body Eurostat.

　　據(jù)歐盟統(tǒng)計(jì)局統(tǒng)計(jì)，英國(guó)的食品消費(fèi)在西歐也是最便宜的，比歐盟平均水平低8%。

　　It is also much cheaper in relative terms than the food bought by Britons’ parents and grandparents.

　　目前英國(guó)人的食物占其收入比已經(jīng)大大低于父輩和祖父輩時(shí)代的比例。

　　The proportion of household income spent on food has more than halved over the past 60 years， according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)， while spending on housing costs and leisure activities has doubled.

　　英國(guó)國(guó)家統(tǒng)計(jì)局的數(shù)字發(fā)現(xiàn)，英國(guó)家庭的基本食物開(kāi)支占總開(kāi)支的比例，相比60年前已經(jīng)減半，而用于住房成本和休閑活動(dòng)的支出則翻了一番。

　　Rise of the discounters

　　折扣商店的興起

　　Why have Britons come to spend less and less of their income on food？

　　為什么英國(guó)人花在食物上的錢越來(lái)越少？

　　It’s partly a reflection of how people shop.

　　這在一定程度上反映了人們?nèi)绾钨?gòu)物。

　　Store loyalty has decreased over time， with consumers more likely to shop around for the best prices.

　　隨著時(shí)間的推移，顧客不再熱衷于某一個(gè)商店，哪家產(chǎn)品性價(jià)比好，他們就去哪家。

　　Four out of 10 would not care if their usual supermarket closed， one survey of 1，500 of UK consumers found. Almost one in five had switched from their main supermarket in the past year.

　　一項(xiàng)針對(duì)1500名英國(guó)消費(fèi)者的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，四成英國(guó)人不在乎他們通常光顧的超市是否關(guān)門。近五分之一的人在過(guò)去一年沒(méi)有光顧過(guò)他們?cè)瓉?lái)常去的超市。

　　Technology boost

　　技術(shù)的提高

　　As with many countries， the UK has benefitted from mostly rising incomes， while food production has become more efficient.

　　與許多國(guó)家一樣，英國(guó)主要受益于科技進(jìn)步帶來(lái)的深遠(yuǎn)影響，當(dāng)然其中包括食品生產(chǎn)效率的提高。

　　Farming has become increasingly mechanised， which speeds up production and helps to maximise harvests.

　　機(jī)械化的農(nóng)業(yè)加速了生產(chǎn)節(jié)奏，并有助于最大限度地提高收益。

　　At the same time， the way food is transported， stored and distributed has become increasingly streamlined. All of this has helped to push down the price of groceries in the shops.

　　與此同時(shí)，食品運(yùn)輸、儲(chǔ)存和分發(fā)的方式也日益簡(jiǎn)化。所有這些都促使商店里貨物價(jià)格的下降。

　　(全文共362個(gè)詞)

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