2007年VOA标准英语-Supreme Court in India Proposes Ban on Street F

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
12 February 2007

India's Supreme¹ Court has proposed a ban on hawkers (street vendors²) who

Indian roadside food stall worker fries an egg in Kolkata, 14 Oct 2006

cook food at roadside stalls in New Delhi - a city famed for the hot, spicy³ snacks available on its pavements. Anjana Pasricha reports from the Indian capital that residents have reacted with dismay.

It is lunchtime on a cold winter day, and dozens of hungry people have drifted out of their offices in Delhi for a hot snack.

They do not have to go far, hawkers are preparing a range of culinary delights along a tiny road tucked between two office blocks in the heart of the city. On offer are deep fried dumplings known as samosas⁴, a popular spicy dish called chaat, and stuffed Indian breads known as parathas.

But these street-side treats may soon be a thing of the past if a recent proposal of the Supreme Court is enforced. As part of a long study of urban reform with other organizations, the Supreme Court says street vendors will be confined to small pockets of the city. They will have to cook the food they sell at home, and serve it pre-packed to customers.

The proposal is a bid to clean up the Indian capital's streets, which are dotted with hawkers.

The suggestion has not gone down well with residents, whether they are students, office workers, housewives or migrant laborers⁵.

A dietitian⁶, Preeti Aggarwal, is enjoying the treats with her husband and three-year-old son. She wails⁷ at the thought of not being able to have a spicy plate of chaat at a roadside stall.

"We feel like body without soul. We [are] born in this country. We really enjoy, we really relish⁸ chaat and all, our system is used to this," she said.

Indeed, customers here have enjoyed food prepared in front of their eyes for years. Most of them are like Jaskaran Singh Saidana, who swears allegiance to the stalls, calling their food mouth-watering, affordable⁹ and hygienic.

"Pau bhaji [a potato and vegetable dish] and all we can't have in shops. They are very much [more] expensive [than] from the stalls. They are not very tasty also as we get in these stalls." said Saidana.  "We don't know what they are doing in kitchens. This thing they are cooking in front of me, for me this is hygienic."

These roadside stalls are not just favored by the middle class. They are also frequented by tens of thousands of migrant workers such as Tilak Bist.

Bist says it is possible for him to have a meal at these stalls for just a few rupees (a quarter of a dollar). He says moving these hawkers will hurt low-income earners like him.

Those threatened with closure are also at a loss. Many stalls have been in the same family for generations. Bunty Singh says he knows no other business than deftly¹⁰ cutting fruit, squeezing it with lemon, and topping it up with special spices to make it more palatable¹¹ for Indians.

Singh says his business will suffer if the proposal is implemented¹². He says customers will not buy packaged fruit chaat, because they will doubt it is fresh.

So far there is no official reaction to the Supreme Court proposal. Nevertheless, residents Raj and her husband Vishal Mirchandani are getting ready for the worst.

The couple says they have come for a last snack because they fear the stalls might disappear any time.

Delhi residents have good reason to feel nostalgic. Even guidebooks direct tourists to the city's historic old Delhi neighborhood to sample the roadside pan-fried parathas (Indian bread) as an essential part of the Indian experience.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

3 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

4 samosas   

n.萨莫萨三角饺( samosa的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The food will be samosas, chicken curry and rice, and naan bread. 食品将是五香三角菜饺，咖喱鸡肉饭和印度飞饼。 来自互联网
• A: How about some vegetable samosas to start and today's special chicken curry? 甲：那么先尝一尝蔬菜炸馅角然后再试‘日精选-咖哩鸡’好不好？ 来自互联网

5 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

6 dietitian   

n.营养学家

参考例句：

• You can seek the advice of a nutritionist or dietitian.你可以征求营养师或饮食专家的意见。
• I have no doubt she would make a good dietitian.毫无疑问她会成为优秀的营养学家。

7 wails   

痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The child burst into loud wails. 那个孩子突然大哭起来。
• Through this glaciated silence the white wails of the apartment fixed arbitrary planes. 在这冰封似的沉寂中，公寓的白色墙壁构成了一个个任意的平面。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

8 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

9 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

10 deftly   

adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在，于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

11 palatable   

adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的

参考例句：

• The truth is not always very palatable.事实真相并非尽如人意。
• This wine is palatable and not very expensive.这种酒味道不错，价钱也不算贵。

12 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句