VOA慢速英語：高通脹迫使阿根廷人做出艱難抉擇

Argentina reported a monthly inflation rate of 7.4 percent in the month of July, the highest number in about 20 years.
阿根廷報(bào)告稱，7月份的月通脹率為7.4%，為約20年來的最高水平。
 
The country's consumer prices have increased 71 percent over the past year, the national statistics agency, called INDEC, said recently.
國家統(tǒng)計(jì)局INDEC最近表示，消費(fèi)者價(jià)格在過去一年中上漲了71%。
 
The latest numbers put Argentina among the countries with the highest inflation rates in the world.
這一數(shù)據(jù)使阿根廷躋身世界上通貨膨脹率最高的國家之列。
 
The effects of inflation are clear in Villa Fiorito, around 15 kilometers from downtown Buenos Aires. There, unemployed women gather in the hopes of exchanging goods for food. Such exchanges that do not involve money are known as bartering.
在距離布宜諾斯艾利斯市中心約 15 公里的菲奧里托別墅，通貨膨脹的影響更加明顯。在那里，失業(yè)的婦女聚集在一起，希望用商品換取食物。這種不涉及金錢的交易被稱為易貨交易。
 
Every afternoon, women set up their blankets and lay out their goods, including clothes and toys. Their hope is to exchange the goods for food to feed their families.
每天下午，婦女們都會鋪好毯子，擺好衣服和玩具等物品。他們希望用貨物換取食物來養(yǎng)家糊口。
 
The economic problems are likely to get worse before they get better in Argentina. Experts predict that inflation for the whole year will likely reach 90 percent or higher.
阿根廷的經(jīng)濟(jì)問題在好轉(zhuǎn)之前可能會變得更糟。專家預(yù)測，全年通脹率將可能達(dá)到90%或更高。
 
Thirty-one-year-old Soledad Bustos sets up shop in the Villa Fiorito fair every afternoon while one of her children is in school and another is under the care of her sister.
31 歲的 Soledad Bustos 每天下午都會在 Villa Fiorito 集市上擺攤，而她的一個(gè)孩子正在上學(xué)，另一個(gè)則由她姐姐照顧。
 
The money is not enough
錢不夠
 
Bustos offers clothing like jeans, leather boots, sneakers and shirts that she either took out of her own home or bought through the social media service Facebook. In exchange, she asks for powdered milk.
Bustos 提供牛仔褲、皮靴、運(yùn)動(dòng)鞋和襯衫等服裝，這些物品她要么是從自己家中拿來的，要么是通過社交媒體服務(wù)Facebook購買的。以此來換些奶粉。
 
"I can't get to the end of the month, the money isn't enough," Bustos, a single mother, said.
“撐不到月底，錢不夠用。”單身母親布斯托斯說。
 
Bustos is unemployed and says she receives around $255 a month from the state. That amount is not enough to feed her family.
Bustos 失業(yè)了，她每月能從州政府那里領(lǐng)到大約 255 美元。但這筆錢不足以養(yǎng)活她的家人。
 
Bartering events started spreading in Argentina after the economy collapsed in 2001. But such events have increased in recent years as the inflation rate has remained high.
自2001年經(jīng)濟(jì)崩潰后，以物易物事件開始在阿根廷蔓延。但近年來，由于通貨膨脹率居高不下，此類事件有所增加。
 
"This is living hand-to-mouth," said María Inés Pereyra, 48, the organizer of the event that runs Mondays through Saturdays. "Whatever they obtain today they take it straight to the dining table."
48歲的瑪拉拉·伊內(nèi)斯·佩雷拉說：“這就是勉強(qiáng)維持生計(jì)的生活，”周一至周六舉辦的活動(dòng)組織者。“無論他們今天得到什么，都會把它直接帶到餐桌上。”
 
For safety reasons, only women can take part in bartering. Most of the exchanges have already been previously arranged on Facebook or WhatsApp.
出于安全原因，只有女性可以參加易貨交易。大部分交流都在 Facebook 或 WhatsApp 上進(jìn)行。
 
Although there is no set value for the used goods, Pereyra set a top price of $2 for each piece of clothing.
雖然二手商品沒有設(shè)定價(jià)值，但 Pereyra 為每件衣服設(shè)定了 2 美元的最高價(jià)格。
 
As an example, she pointed to a pair of leather sneakers that could be traded for a packet of sugar, cooking oil, flour and a local tea.
例如，她用一雙皮運(yùn)動(dòng)鞋，可以換取一包糖、食用油、面粉和當(dāng)?shù)夭琛?br />  
Fernández's administration has blamed the high inflation rate in July on a currency crisis caused by "speculative movements that tried to generate a crisis of uncertainty and push a devaluation," Gabriela Cerruti, the government's spokeswoman, said recently.
政府發(fā)言人Gabriela Cerruti最近表示，F(xiàn)ern謾ndez政府將7月份的高通脹率歸咎于“試圖制造不確定性危機(jī)并推動(dòng)貶值的投機(jī)運(yùn)動(dòng)”造成的貨幣危機(jī)。
 
Cerruti's statement came before the inflation rate was released.
Cerruti 的聲明是在通貨膨脹率公布之前發(fā)表的。
 
The increase of the country's already high inflation rate comes shortly after the government had three economy ministers within one month.
在一個(gè)月內(nèi)政府任命了三位經(jīng)濟(jì)部長之后不久，該國本已很高的通貨膨脹率就出現(xiàn)了上升。
 
Experts and members of Fernández's administration expect the August inflation rate to be similar to July. That is because of increases in prices for public transport and energy.
Fern謾ndez 政府的專家和成員預(yù)計(jì) 8 月的通脹率將與 7 月相似。這是因?yàn)楣步煌ê湍茉磧r(jià)格上漲。
 
In Villa Fiorito, Bustos said she and her fellow barterers are centering their efforts on "surviving."
在 Villa Fiorito，Bustos 說她和她的易貨伙伴們正把精力集中在“生存”上。
 
I'm Jill Robbins.
吉爾·羅賓斯報(bào)道。