今日主題:The story behind coffee 咖啡背後的故事
派老師推薦:雅思聽力最好的課外教材:BBC
康康精選雅思會考的主題,堅持每天精聽一定會進步的哦!!
建議方法:
1. 先聽兩三遍 (不看文稿)
2. 再一句一句聽寫 (每句都要聽寫數遍,直到寫出85%以上的字)
3. 最後check文稿,看哪聽不出來,單字沒背過,還是發音不熟。
4. 堅持天天聽,就能每天進步哦。
MP3音檔 (按右鍵可下載聽):喜歡的同學,幫忙推或按讚哦~~
http://static.iyuba.com/sounds/minutes/181.mp3
只有音檔怎夠,聽不懂地方,不用怕,康康幫你準備好中英文稿了:
中英文稿:
Hello, I'm Rob.Welcome to 6 Minute English. With me today is Neil. Hello, Neil.
大家好,我是羅伯。歡迎收聽《六分鐘英語》。今天節目的嘉賓是尼爾。你好,尼爾。
Hello Rob!
你好,羅伯!
In this programme we're going to be talking about coffee.
今天的節目中我們要談論咖啡。
Coffee? I've actually got one here in front of me, Rob.
咖啡?我面前就有一杯。
What kind of coffee are you drinking?
你喝什麼樣的咖啡?
It's a skinny latte. And what's that that you've got?
脫脂拿鐵。你買的什麼咖啡呢?
I've gone for a flat white today. Mmm. That tastes good.
今天我喝的是白咖啡。恩,嘗起來不錯。
Looks good too! The market for the world's most popular drink has come a long way since the days of instant coffee, when we just added boiling water to some brown powder.
看起來也不錯!咖啡是世界上最受歡迎的飲料。自從速溶咖啡出現後,我們只需要在這棕色粉狀咖啡裡加入熱水即可。咖啡市場可謂取得了巨大進步。
Yes, that's very true, Neil. After that came the giants like Starbucks and Costa Coffee who made coffee drinking trendy and a lifestyle statement. People are far more aware of what they're drinking these days.
確實如此。之後咖啡界巨頭星巴克和咖世家咖啡興起,引領了咖啡飲用的潮流,傳達了一種新的生活方式。如今人們愈發注重他們飲用的品質。
But Rob, I don't think we should forget what lies behind the coffee we enjoy every day. It's a hugely complicated business.
但是羅伯,我認為我們不能忘記每天享用的咖啡背後隱藏的故事。咖啡業是一個龐大而複雜的產業。
Yes, it's the second biggest commodity in the world, after oil. That means the price of coffee is changing every day, every hour even, as traders speculate about the price.
是的,咖啡是世界第二大商品,僅次於石油。由於貿易者的投機行為,咖啡的價格每天浮動,甚至每小時浮動。
It means farmers in countries like Ethiopia, Costa Rica and Brazil are dependent on the deals that are made in commodity markets thousands of miles from their farms.It makes them extremely vulnerable.
這也使得像埃塞俄比亞、哥斯達黎加和巴西這些國家的咖啡農戶,他們的生存要依賴於離家幾千公里之外的商品市場上的成交額。價格的波動對他們的影響非常大。
Let's listen to food journalist Sheila Dillon as she explains the impact of coffee markets on local growers. She uses an expression that means "has a big effect". Can you tell me what it is?
讓我們來聽聽美食記者希拉狄龍是怎麼解釋咖啡市場對當地種植者的影響。她使用了一個表達來形容「影響之大」。你能告訴我是什麼嗎?
What happens in the coffee markets makes waves around the globe. Entire national economies depend on the price of coffee. It's the key to whether individual farmers can provide for their families, face unemploymentand ultimately whether whole communities stay on the land or trek to the cities.
咖啡市場的波動會在全球引起轟動。整個國民經濟都依賴咖啡的價格。個體種植戶是否能夠養活家庭,是否會面臨失業,最終整個種植群體是能夠靠土地生存下來還是退居城市,咖啡的價格都是關鍵。
She said "makes waves".This means "have a big effect".
她說的是「引起轟動」。也就是說「造成巨大影響」。
She also used the expression "provide for" their families. This means the farmer's family have enough income to live comfortably. Good. Right. So what about our quiz question today? Neil do you know many cups of coffee are drunk worldwide each year?Is it:a) 38 billionb) 400 billionc) 950 billion
她還用了「養活家庭」這樣的表達。這是指咖啡種植戶的家庭能夠獲得足夠的收入來過舒適的生活。好了。到我們今天的問題環節了。尼爾,你知道每年全世界消費多少杯咖啡嗎?a) 380億b) 4000億c) 9500億
Well, it's going to be a huge number, of course.But I still think I'll go for the lowest figure, which is 38 billion.
當然,這肯定是一個很大的數字。但我仍然覺得應該是最低的那個,380億。
Well, we'll see if you got the right answer at the end of the programme.
好的,節目的最後我們再來揭曉正確答案。
Now, the price of coffee has soared – that means gone up quickly – in recent years, Rob. Surely that's good for everyone involved in the business? I believe the profit margins for coffee are among the highest in the world. I can't see what all the fuss is about.
近幾年來,咖啡的價格飆升,也就是說上升迅猛。這對參與咖啡產業的每個人都有好處嗎?我認為咖啡的利潤空間是所有商品中最大的。我不覺得這有什麼大驚小怪的。
Well, Neil, just because the price is high, it doesn't mean that everyone benefits. It all depends on how the profits are distributed. You see there are countless transactions between the grower and the drinker. A grower can have a really good crop, but the amount he makes stays the same – or can even fall.
價格高並不意味著每個人都能從中獲益。這都取決於利潤如何分配。在種植者和最終飲用者之間還存在數不清的交易。種植者也許收成相當不錯,但是他們賺的錢總是一樣,甚至還會減少。
Mmm, I see the problem.I expect most of the profits go to the commodity traders and very little to the individual growers of the bean.It sounds like the growers have no control. That's what happens in other agricultural sectors.
恩,我意識到問題了。大部分的利潤都流向了商品交易者,咖啡豆的個體種植者所得的利潤就微乎其微了。利潤的多少種植者無法掌控。在其他農業領域也是如此。
I'm afraid so.Of course, some people are trying to distribute the profits more widely and they have been having some success.
恐怕是的。當然,一些人嘗試著更廣泛的分配利潤,他們也許能取得成功。
Yes, I heard about some small-scale projects where the company takes charge of the whole process from field to shop.
沒錯,我聽說最近有一些小型項目,公司從種植到銷售一條龍承包。
Yes, these organisations tend to farm organically. This is very labour intensive – that means a lot of people are employed – and it creates a lot of jobs for people within the local community. In this way they are not victims of market fluctuations. Let's listen to Leo Virmani, who runs a small plantation like this in Costa Rica. What's the verb he uses for putting the coffee in a box before selling it?
是的,這些公司傾向於進行有機種植。這是一項勞動集約型的產業,意味著要僱傭很多人。這也為當地增加了不少就業機會。這樣,種植者不再是市場價格浮動的犧 牲品。利奧維爾馬尼在哥斯達黎加就經營著這樣的種植園,我們來聽聽他是怎麼說的。他用了什麼動詞來描述將咖啡打包銷售?
For our plantation, the approach we have is to go through every step of the way - every step of the process - so that we grow it, we pick it, and we process it in the mill. Then eventually we'll roast it, we'll package it, and we'll sell it as the small plantation we are. And that would allow us to stay or be profitable at the end of the day.
對於我們的種植園來說,我們完成咖啡生產的每一步。所以我們種植咖啡豆,挑揀並進行加工。最終,進行烘焙、包裝、然後出售。這樣可以讓我們小種植園在市場中存活下來,並最終獲取利潤。
So, he used the verb "package", which means "put a product in a packet or box before selling" it.
他使用的是動詞「包裝」,是指「將產品放入盒子或箱子再進行銷售」。
And he said his community can stay "profitable" – this means they can always maintain profits – or make money.
他說他們可以「有利可圖」或賺到錢,「有利可圖」指他們可以獲得收益。
Well, it's good to know that small growers can live reasonably comfortably despite what the world markets are doing. The next time I grab a takeaway coffee I'll try to remember all the politics involved in the production process.
不管世界市場如何變幻,小種植者都可以合理地生存下來,這真不錯。下次我帶外賣咖啡時,會記得生產過程中涉及的所有政治問題。
Yes, me too. So, shall we have the answer to the quiz question now?
我也是。那麼,現在我們來揭曉之前問題的答案吧?
Yes. You asked me how many cups of coffee are drunk worldwide each year – 38 billion, 400 billion or 950 billion. And I guessed 38 billion.
好的。之前你問我每年全世界消費多少杯咖啡,380億、4000億還是9500億。我選的是380億。
I'm afraid you're wrong – the answer is actually 400 billion.
很抱歉你回答錯了。正確答案是4000億。
No way.That's incredible.
這不可能吧。真是難以置信。
Yes, it's an extraordinary statistic. Well, we're almost out of time. So, let's remind ourselves of some of the words we've said today, Neil.
這個數據確實很驚人。節目時間快到了。我們來回憶一下今天提到的單詞吧。
commodity
商品
speculate
投機
fluctuations
浮動
vulnerable
易受影響的
make waves
引起轟動
provides for
供養
labour intensive
勞動集約型
package
包裝
profitable
有利可圖的
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