2006年VOA标准英语-Senegalese Sheep Sellers Compete for Muslim Hol

By Kari Barber
Dakar
30 December 2006

Senegal is preparing to observe the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha (the feast of the sacrifice) starting Sunday. The holiday, known as Tabaski in parts of West Africa, requires Muslims to sacrifice a sheep for the new year. Sellers from across the sub region have brought their rams² to Dakar, but some local sellers say they are not happy about the competition. Kari Barber has this report from VOA's Dakar bureau.

 
Senegalese sheep seller Mbai Sene feeds his Tabaski rams
Outside a bus terminal in Dakar, dozens of sheep sellers tend pens filled with hundreds of bleating³ rams. Sellers come from Mali, Mauritania and Gambia to cash in on Tabaski sheep sales, and some Senegalese vendors⁴ say the competition is hurting their business.

Mbai Sene from the interior of Senegal has been selling rams here for six years.

He says his profits have been going down.

Sene says, every time he sets a price, foreign sellers undercut him. He is afraid he will not sell all 25 of his sheep.

Amadou Gindo, from Mali, has been coming to Dakar to sell Tabaski rams for 13 years.

 
Amadou Gindo from Mali comes to Dakar every year to sell rams for Tabaski
Gindo says sheep from Mali, often raised in the desert, are typically taller and thinner than those from Senegal. Because of this, he says, they fetch a different price.

Yusupha Ndiaye says he does not care who he buys the ram¹ from, as long as the price is right. Rams here are selling for $80 to $600, an immense sum for most Senegalese.

Ndiaye, who works as a driver in Dakar, says he will be disgraced, if he does not buy a ram to sacrifice for his wife and 12 children.

He is willing to spend about $150.

Ndiaye says, on this day, sellers are not coming down enough on their prices. He says he will wait and try to get a better price tomorrow.

This year, the government reports that more than 260,000 sheep have been brought to Dakar for sale. Nearly 200,000 of those come from outside Senegal.

1 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

2 rams   

n.公羊( ram的名词复数 )；(R-)白羊（星）座；夯；攻城槌v.夯实（土等）( ram的第三人称单数 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• A couple of rams are butting at each other. 两只羊正在用角互相抵触。 来自辞典例句
• More than anything the rams helped to break what should have been on interminable marriage. 那些牡羊比任何东西都更严重地加速了他们那本该天长地久的婚姻的破裂。 来自辞典例句

3 bleating   

v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的现在分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说

参考例句：

• I don't like people who go around bleating out things like that. 我不喜欢跑来跑去讲那种蠢话的人。 来自辞典例句
• He heard the tinny phonograph bleating as he walked in. 他步入室内时听到那架蹩脚的留声机在呜咽。 来自辞典例句

4 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