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VOA慢速英語:價格上漲威脅到英國傳統(tǒng)食品炸魚薯條
Fish and chips have been popular among Britons since the food was invented some 160 years ago.
自160年前炸魚薯條被發(fā)明以來,炸魚薯條一直深受英國人的歡迎。
Charles Dickens wrote about the dish in his well-known story of Oliver Twist.
查爾斯·狄更斯在他著名的小說《霧都孤兒》中就提到了這道菜。
Unlike other common food, it was not rationed during the world wars.
與其他常見食物不同的是,它在世界大戰(zhàn)期間不限量供應。
But a third of fish and chip shops are at risk of going out of business this year due to price pressures, says Company Debt, a business advisory company.
但商業(yè)咨詢公司Company Debt表示,由于價格壓力,三分之一的炸魚薯條店今年面臨倒閉的風險。
In just a year, the prices for fish, like cod and haddock, are up 75 percent.
短短一年內,鱈魚和黑線鱈等魚類的價格上漲了75%。
Sunflower oil used for cooking is up 60 percent and even flour is up 40 percent.
用于烹飪的葵花籽油價格上漲了60%,甚至面粉也上漲了40%。
Overall, inflation in Britain reached a 40-year high of 9 percent in April, the highest among G7 countries.
總體而言,英國4月份的通貨膨脹率達到了40年來的最高水平,為9%,是七國集團最高的。
And it is expected to rise even higher.
預計還會上升得更高。
At west London's Hooked Fish and Chips, Bally Singh is struggling to keep up sales for the traditional British dish.
在倫敦西部的鉤魚薯條店,巴利·辛格正在努力保持這道英國傳統(tǒng)菜肴的銷量。
Fish and chips in Singh's shop now cost almost 10 pounds, compared to around 8 pounds a year ago.
辛格店里炸魚薯條現在的價格將近10英鎊,而一年前大約是8英鎊。
And Singh said if he passed on all the higher costs, the price would be closer to 11 pounds.
辛格說,如果他把所有更高的成本都轉嫁到消費者身上,價格接近11英鎊。
"We're finding it a struggle to keep our prices reasonable and competitive compared to other fast foods that are in the area, and we've actually seen a decline in fish sales and customers walking through the door," he said.
他說:“我們發(fā)現,與該地區(qū)的其他快餐相比,我們很難保持合理的價格和競爭力,實際上我們已經看到銷量在下降,顧客也在減少。”
Some of the recent difficulties for fish and chip shops started with Britain's withdrawal from the European Union (EU).
炸魚薯條店最近的一些困難始于英國退出歐盟。
UK Fisheries, a fishing company, said in 2022, Britain had to reduce its Arctic cod catch to around 40 percent of what it was before leaving the EU.
英國漁業(yè)公司表示,2022年,英國不得不將北極鱈魚的捕魚量減少到脫歐前的40%左右。
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has driven up fuel and electricity prices, further increasing the cost of catching, and frying, fish.
俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭推高了燃料和電力價格,進一步增加了捕撈和油炸魚類的成本。
The war has sent cooking oil, fertilizer and flour prices higher, too.
這場戰(zhàn)爭也推高了食用油、化肥和面粉的價格。
Cod and haddock are sourced in the Barents Sea, north of Norway and Russia.
鱈魚和黑線鱈產于挪威和俄羅斯北部的巴倫支海。
The war has increased uncertainty over those supplies.
戰(zhàn)爭也增加了這些魚類供應的不確定性。
In March, the British government listed Russian white fish as among goods to be hit with a 35 percent tax in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
今年3月,作為對俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭的回應,英國政府將俄羅斯白魚列為征收35%關稅的商品之一。
It has paused the move, for now, while the effects are investigated.
目前,在對其影響進行調查期間,這一政策處于暫停狀態(tài)。
Sunflower oil is the main agricultural product that Britain imports from Ukraine.
葵花籽油是英國從烏克蘭進口的主要農產品。
The government says it is working to replace it with other vegetable oils such as rapeseed.
英國政府表示,其正在努力用油菜籽等其他植物油來取代它。
A spokesperson for Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said it was "working closely with industry, including the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF), to mitigate the challenges that they are facing."
環(huán)境、食品及農村事務部的一位發(fā)言人表示,該部門正在與包括全國炸魚薯條聯(lián)合會在內的行業(yè)密切合作,以緩解他們面臨的挑戰(zhàn)。
Mitigate means to make something less harmful or severe.
Mitigate的意思是使某事不那么有害或嚴重。
However, the federation said fish and chip shops are facing their biggest crisis ever.
然而,該聯(lián)合會表示,炸魚薯條店正面臨著有史以來最大的危機。
"I'm getting daily phone calls from people that are worried that they're going to go out of business," NFFF President Andrew Crook told Reuters.
全國炸魚薯條聯(lián)合會會長安德魯·克魯克告訴路透社:“我每天都會接到一些人的電話,他們擔心自己會倒閉。”
Malcolm Petherick is 73 years old.
馬爾科姆·佩瑟里克今年73歲。
He worried changes he has seen over his lifetime might result in Britain losing a part of its cultural history.
他擔心目前所看到的變化可能會導致英國失去一部分文化歷史。
"When I was growing up, it was a poor man's meal," he said about fish and chips.
談到炸魚薯條,他說:“在我小時候,這是窮人的飯。”
He added that he just bought two orders of fish and chips for 23 pounds.
他還說,他剛剛花了23英鎊買了兩份炸魚薯條。
"What family can afford that?" he asked.
他問:“哪個家庭能負擔得起?”
I'm John Russell.
約翰·拉塞爾報道。