VOA慢速英语2021--在纽约的失业妇女帮助养活成千上万的人

A New York woman who lost her job is using some of her free time to help feed thousands of people in her community.

Sofia Moncayo leads a group of volunteers who give out food to those in need in a neighborhood in Queens. On a recent rainy day, a large crowd lined up outside the Mosaic¹ West Queens Church to receive free food.

The team members helping² Moncayo were wet, cold and tired. Some lifted heavy food containers while others separated items and removed snow from the street.

Moncayo led her team in prayer. "We're super grateful for these people here. In Jesus' name we pray," she said. The group around her then cheered and added: "Amen."

"Now," Moncayo said, "let's get to work."

The helpers receive no money, but said they were just happy to be there for someone else that day.

Moncayo has led the food assistance³ program during the coronavirus pandemic. It launched⁴ in March and she took charge of the effort a month later. The program currently⁵ serves hundreds of people.

Moncayo has faced her own struggles during the pandemic. She was let go from her job at a building company and remains⁶ unemployed⁷. She also has a martial⁸ arts business with her husband that has suffered financial difficulties.

But she has continued to raise money in the community and lead the effort to provide more than 1,000 boxes of food to families two times per week.

"I think helping others has to do something to your brain chemically because if we had not been doing everything that we're doing, I think this would have been a much scarier time," Moncayo said.

"Being able to dig in and help others, it really gives you perspective⁹ and helps you believe that you're going to be OK too," she added.

Most of the food is donated by a neighborhood restaurant and other businesses and organizations. There has also been help from the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, which is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Moncayo, who was born in Colombia, said she was moved to volunteer by her Christian¹⁰ faith, as well as her own experiences with food insecurity while growing up in New York. She noted¹¹ that she used to join her family in lines to pick up bread and cheese from food programs. Sometimes she said she felt ashamed.

"One of the things that we wanted to make sure is that we don't look at people on the pantry line as people that need food, and really focus on, ‘hey, these are our neighbors.'"

Neighborhood resident¹² Carol Sullivan lost her job as a stage manager when New York theaters closed because of the pandemic. At first, she was not sure about receiving food from a pantry, but she said Moncayo and the other volunteers made her feel welcome.

"It has been a link to the community that I didn't have before. And it also saves a lot of anxiety over having to have money to pay for food over having to pay for the bills," Sullivan said.

"If you have a dollar, you have to stretch it in so many places. Having them has made the choice less stressful."

Words in This Story

grateful – adj. feeling or showing thanks

martial arts – n. several forms of fighting and self-defense that are widely practiced as a sport

perspective – n. a particular way of considering something

ashamed – adj. feeling guilty of embarrassed about something

pantry – n. a room or closet used for storage or from which food is brought to the table

focus – v. pay attention to something

stage – n. the part of a theater on which the acting¹³ takes place

anxiety – n. an uncomfortable feeling or nervousness about something

stress – n. a state of mental tension¹⁴ and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc.

1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 assistance   

n.援助，帮助

参考例句：

• She called and called but no one came to her assistance.她叫了又叫，但没有人来帮。
• He will get the great possible assistance.他将获得尽可能大的帮助。

4 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

5 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

8 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

9 perspective   

n.视角，观点，想法

参考例句：

• You can get a perspective of the whole city from here.从这里你可以看到城市的全景。
• We may get a clear perspective of the people's happy lives.我们知道人民对幸福生活的展望。

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 resident   

a.居住的，居留的；住校的，住院的

参考例句：

• I've been resident in this place for five years. 我已经在这个地方住了五年。
• They engaged a resident tutor. 他们聘用了一名住家的家庭教师。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 tension   

n.(紧张)状态；拉(绷)紧；张力，拉力

参考例句：

• I could feel the tension in the room. 我可以感觉到房间里的紧张气氛。
• Relaxaion is better than tension. 缓和比紧张好。