美国国家公共电台 NPR--Afghans are worried about winter hardships amid a tanking economy

Afghans are worried about winter hardships amid a tanking economy

Transcript¹

With a collapsed² economy and growing unemployment, many Afghans who've never needed assistance are standing³ in food lines and worrying about how they'll survive the winter.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

More than 90% of people in Afghanistan don't have enough food to eat. That's according to the World Food Programme. Under Taliban rule, a collapsed economy and growing unemployment have plunged⁴ the country into extreme poverty. And as NPR's Arezou Rezvani reports from Kabul, many families are worried about how they'll make it through the winter.

(SHOUTING)

AREZOU REZVANI, BYLINE⁵: There's a certain scene that unfolds across Afghanistan with alarming frequency these days.

So we're at a food distribution site here in central Kabul. We're watching aid workers fill up wheelbarrows full of bags of flour, jugs⁶ of oil, a bag of salt.

This food aid goes to families like Mari Jaan (ph). A little over a year ago, Mari's husband supported their family of five. He helped people make sense of their visa applications. But when the government collapsed last year, so too did their lives.

MARI JAAN: (Non-English language spoken).

REZVANI: Her husband lost his job. Then he got ill. And ever since, Mari's family has relied on this aid. But it's been getting harder and harder to get by.

JAAN: (Non-English language spoken).

REZVANI: "The power, the water, it's all been shut off," she tells me. "It's been impossible to afford the bills."

PHILIPPE KROPF: We are seeing a changing face of hunger in Afghanistan since last year.

REZVANI: That's Philippe Kropf of the World Food Programme.

KROPF: With the vanishing of jobs, with the economy in a meltdown situation, we're now seeing people standing in line for food assistance who never would have believed in their lives that they ever will be standing in line for food.

REZVANI: Former members of the Afghan military, teachers, even employees of the resurrected Taliban government wait in food lines these days. The World Food Programme says Afghanistan's harvest was much lower than expected this year. That means more families are turning to this aid when there's much less to go around.

KROPF: When we talk to people at our distribution sites, everybody tells us last winter was difficult, but we have no idea how we will get through the coming winter.

REZVANI: Aid organizations are also in a tough spot, Kropf says. The war in Ukraine has caused a spike⁷ in food and energy prices. The WFP's food basket is about 20% more expensive than last year, making this an exceptionally challenging winter for getting aid and giving it.

(CROSSTALK)

REZVANI: Back at the distribution center, Mari talks of the winter with a great deal of anxiety.

JAAN: (Through interpreter) We're not prepared. We don't have coal. We don't have wood. And we definitely don't have enough to eat.

REZVANI: And on top of all of that, she adds, she's also running out of hope.

Arezou Rezvani, NPR News, Kabul, Afghanistan.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

5 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。

6 jugs   

（有柄及小口的）水壶( jug的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two china jugs held steaming gravy. 两个瓷罐子装着热气腾腾的肉卤。
• Jugs-Big wall lingo for Jumars or any other type of ascenders. 大岩壁术语，祝玛式上升器或其它种类的上升器。

7 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。