2007年VOA标准英语-Senegal Food Stand Feeds Community on a Few Dol

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
09 April 2007

According to most poverty indicators¹, almost half the population of Sub-Saharan Africa is living on less than $1 a day. One Senegalese food stand owner shows how far a dollar goes in this part of the world. Her aluminum-sided, cardboard-roofed sandwich and coffee stand in Dakar has become the community kitchen for hundreds of people, mostly men who come from far away to work in the city. For a little over one dollar, diners can afford breakfast, lunch, hot coffee, plus a helping² of morning news. Phuong Tran has more from Dakar, Senegal.

Before the sun rises, Astou Diaw, 47, and her daughter, Yoni, ride a bus through Dakar's faintly-lit streets to get to her corner breakfast stand where she has sold bean filled baguettes and coffee for four years.

Before sandwiches, Diaw sold local juices, water and peanuts. But a breakfast stand seemed a better way to help support her family.

"I wanted to help out my husband and our seven kids," she said. "It is hard work and sometimes I cannot cover my costs. But even though it is really hard, I still am able to help out more than before."

A ten-minute bus ride later, Diaw arrives at her husband's metal shop, which is also the kitchen for her food stand.

Mother and daughter work quickly.

They heat a bucket of water, and stir³ beans over a fire that will go into her signature spicy⁴ lentil sandwich, a best selling 50 cent long baguette.

While Yoni washes glasses, Diaw fills a large silver bowl with the lentils. By seven thirty, she takes her seat for the morning rush.

Customer Mamadou Dieng

Mamadou Diop comes in for the local drink, a heavily-sugared frothy local drink that tastes like a spicy mix of coffee and tea.

He is a security⁵ guard who leaves his house before sunrise every day to travel 30 kilometers to Dakar.

"I come when I have the money. Sometimes, when I do not have money, I will still come by and she will sell me on credit," he said. "Here I can eat good home cooked food. Women like her help us out a lot. We do not have much money. At Astou's stand, for less than 50 cents, you can be full."

A group of men debate the recent presidential elections⁶ in Senegal.

Four hours and dozens of customers later, Diaw counts her change. She is short of the six dollars needed to cover her expenses on bread, butter, coffee and beans.

"Mondays are the hardest because most people do not have money yet to pay at the beginning of the work week," she said. "Maybe tomorrow will be better."

Folding her apron⁷, Diaw takes a lentil sandwich with mayonnaise. Leaving her daughter to work the lunch shift⁸, Diaw leaves and waits for the bus to go home.

Despite her cash problem on most Mondays, Diaw was able to make $2,000 last year from her food stand.

This is in a country where about half the population is unemployed⁹, and for those who work, their average annual salary is about $700.

1 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

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 stir   

n.感动(激动，愤怒或震动)，搅拌，骚乱；vt.激起，惹起，搅和；vi.挪动，活动，离开，搅拌，激动

参考例句：

• Give the soup a stir.把汤搅拌一下。
• Don't stir up trouble between them.不要在他们之间惹麻烦。

4 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。

5 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

6 elections   

n.选举，当选，推举( election的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Republicans got shellacked in the elections. 共和党在选举中一败涂地。
• He emerged victorious in the elections. 他在竞选中脱颖而出获得胜利。

7 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

8 shift   

n.交换，变化，移动，接班者；vt.更替，移转，变声；vi.改变，定责，更衣

参考例句：

• Lend me a hand to shift this box,will you?来帮一下忙，把这箱子搬开，好吗？
• A sudden shift in the wind warned of the coming storm.风向的突然改变预示暴风雨来临。

9 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。