考研英語美文賞讀（31）：為什么英國的食物這么便宜？

　　摘要：考研英語作為一門考研公共課，雖然大家都學了英語十幾年，卻仍經常有總分過線掛在英語上的情況，因此英語復習不單單是單詞、做題。閱讀作為考研英語的大頭，僅僅做考研真題或許沒法滿足你的閱讀量，因此幫幫之后會不定時推出一篇英文美文，這些文章都與考研英語閱讀同源，多讀必有好處。

　　?Many Britons feel they have to watch the pennies after recent inflation rises and years of flatlining wages.

　　許多英國人覺得，在最近的通貨膨脹和多年的工資持平之后，他們在過日子上不得不精打細算。

　　This extends to their supermarket shop， with four in 10 people reporting they are concerned about the cost of food.

　　當然他們的考慮范圍也包括超市，四成人說他們擔心的是食物的價格。

　　Against this backdrop， grocery giant Tesco has joined the discount retailers， which the launch of "value-orientated" chain Jack’s.

　　在這這樣的背景下，雜貨巨頭樂購加入了折扣零售商的行列，推出了“以價值為導向”的連鎖超市Jack’s。

　　Yet in relative terms， the British grocery shop remains one of the cheapest in the world.

　　然而相對而言，英國的雜貨店仍然是世界上最便宜的。

　　Half the price

　　一半的價格

　　Britons spend an average of 8% of their total household expenditure on food to eat at home. This is less than any other country apart from the US and Singapore， according to data from market research firm Euromonitor.

　　英國人平均吃飯開支占家庭開支的8%，據市場戰(zhàn)略調查公司 Euromonitor 的一項調查發(fā)現，除了美國和新加坡以外，英國是目前全世界在家吃飯開支占家庭開支比最低的國家。

　　Food spending varies considerably around the world. Greeks spend 16%， while Peruvians spend 26%. Nigerians spend the most on food in relative terms - 59% of their household budget.

　　根據這項調查發(fā)現，平均家庭吃飯開支占家庭收入比在世界各地差異很大，比如希臘占約16%，秘魯占約26%，而尼日利亞高達59%。

　　The food consumed in the UK is also the cheapest in Western Europe - costing 8% less than the EU average， according to EU statistical body Eurostat.

　　據歐盟統(tǒng)計局統(tǒng)計，英國的食品消費在西歐也是最便宜的，比歐盟平均水平低8%。

　　It is also much cheaper in relative terms than the food bought by Britons’ parents and grandparents.

　　目前英國人的食物占其收入比已經大大低于父輩和祖父輩時代的比例。

　　The proportion of household income spent on food has more than halved over the past 60 years， according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)， while spending on housing costs and leisure activities has doubled.

　　英國國家統(tǒng)計局的數字發(fā)現，英國家庭的基本食物開支占總開支的比例，相比60年前已經減半，而用于住房成本和休閑活動的支出則翻了一番。

　　Rise of the discounters

　　折扣商店的興起

　　Why have Britons come to spend less and less of their income on food？

　　為什么英國人花在食物上的錢越來越少？

　　It’s partly a reflection of how people shop.

　　這在一定程度上反映了人們如何購物。

　　Store loyalty has decreased over time， with consumers more likely to shop around for the best prices.

　　隨著時間的推移，顧客不再熱衷于某一個商店，哪家產品性價比好，他們就去哪家。

　　Four out of 10 would not care if their usual supermarket closed， one survey of 1，500 of UK consumers found. Almost one in five had switched from their main supermarket in the past year.

　　一項針對1500名英國消費者的調查發(fā)現，四成英國人不在乎他們通常光顧的超市是否關門。近五分之一的人在過去一年沒有光顧過他們原來常去的超市。

　　Technology boost

　　技術的提高

　　As with many countries， the UK has benefitted from mostly rising incomes， while food production has become more efficient.

　　與許多國家一樣，英國主要受益于科技進步帶來的深遠影響，當然其中包括食品生產效率的提高。

　　Farming has become increasingly mechanised， which speeds up production and helps to maximise harvests.

　　機械化的農業(yè)加速了生產節(jié)奏，并有助于最大限度地提高收益。

　　At the same time， the way food is transported， stored and distributed has become increasingly streamlined. All of this has helped to push down the price of groceries in the shops.

　　與此同時，食品運輸、儲存和分發(fā)的方式也日益簡化。所有這些都促使商店里貨物價格的下降。

　　(全文共362個詞)

　　?幫幫提示：考研英語同源外刊美文賞讀匯總

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