Upper-Intermediate - The Rising Cost of Food (D1563)

A: 昨天,国家发改委公布了十月份城市食品零售价格的监测情况。在监测的31种食品当中,近百分之八十的食品价格上涨。本次监测针对北京、上海、重庆等36个大中城市。监测食品包括蔬菜、粮油、鲜肉类,及水果共31个产品。
zuótiān, guójiā fāgǎiwěi gōngbù le shí yuèfèn chéngshì shípǐn língshòu jiàgé de jiāncè qíngkuàng. zài jiāncè de sānshí yī zhǒng shípǐn dāngzhōng, jìn bǎifēnzhī bāshí de shípǐn jiàgé shàngzhǎng. běncì jiāncè zhēnduì Běijīng、 Shànghǎi、 Chóngqìng děng sānshí liù ge dà zhōng chéngshì. jiāncè shípǐn bāokuò shūcài、 liángyóu、 xiānròu lèi, jí shuǐguǒ gòng sānshí yī ge chǎnpǐn.
Yesterday, the National Development and Reform Commission announced their October findings for the urban retail food prices survey. Among the 31 types of foods observed, 80% of prices had gone up. The survey focused on Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and 36 other large and medium-sized cities and included vegetables, grains, cooking oil, meats, and fruits – 31 products in all.
B: 老婆,你买菜回来了。
lǎopó, nǐ mǎicài huílai le.
Honey, you're back with the groceries.
C: 回来了。以后菜都吃不起了。
huílai le. yǐhòu cài dōu chībuqǐ le.
Yeah. In the future we're not going to be able to afford groceries anymore.
B: 又涨价了?
yòu zhǎngjià le?
The prices went up again?
A: 其中黄瓜和西红柿的涨幅最高。黄瓜从每公斤三块五涨到五块六,西红柿从每公斤四块二涨到七块五。
qízhōng huángguā hé xīhóngshì de zhǎngfú zuì gāo. huángguā cóng měi gōngjīn sān kuài wǔ zhǎng dào wǔ kuài liù, xīhóngshì cóng měi gōngjīn sì kuài èr zhǎng dào qī kuài wǔ.
Among these, cucumbers and tomatoes experienced the largest percentage of increase. Cucumbers went from 3.5 kuai per kilo to 5.6. Tomatoes rose from 4.2 to 6.5.
B: 涨这么多,太夸张了吧。
zhǎng zhème duō, tài kuāzhāng le ba.
That's a lot. It's ridiculous.
C: 新闻里还少报了。现在卖菜的简直跟抢钱的一样。本来想买个西红柿的,一问要五块钱一斤,吓死人了。
xīnwén lǐ hái shǎo bào le. xiànzài màicài de jiǎnzhí gēn qiǎngqián de yīyàng. běnlái xiǎng mǎi ge xīhóngshì de, yī wèn yào wǔ kuài qián yī jīn, xiàsǐ rén le.
The media also underreported the figures. Selling food right now really is like highway robbery. Originally I wanted to buy a tomato, but when I heard the price was 5 RMB a kilo, it practically scared me to death.
B: 天啊,最近的菜价怎么回事,一天一个价。再这样下去,叫老百姓怎么活。
tiān a, zuìjìn de cài jià zěnmehuíshì, yītiān yī ge jià. zài zhèyàng xiàqu, jiào lǎobǎixìng zěnme huó.
Gosh. What's going on with food prices these days - there's a different price every day. If this continues, how are the common people supposed to live?
A: 面对价格的大幅上涨,一部分市民出现恐慌心理。为此,专家特别提醒广大消费者,此次价格上涨只是正常的价格调整,不会引发通货膨胀,请市民们放心。
miànduì jiàgé de dàfú shàngzhǎng, yībùfèn shìmín chūxiàn kǒnghuāng xīnlǐ. wèicǐ, zhuānjiā tèbié tíxǐng guǎngdà xiāofèizhě, cǐcì jiàgé shàngzhǎng zhǐshì zhèngcháng de jiàgé tiáozhěng, bùhuì yǐnfā tōnghuò péngzhàng, qǐng shìmín men fàngxīn.
When faced with substantially increased prices, some citizens feel a sense of panic. Because of this, the experts would like to remind consumers that the recent increase is a normal price adjustment, it will not cause inflation and that the people can put their minds at ease.
B: 胡说八道!都涨成这样了,还正常!什么狗屁专家。
húshuōbādào! dōu zhǎng chéng zhèyàng le, hái zhèngcháng! shénme gǒupì zhuānjiā.
What a bunch of rubbish! An increase like this is normal? Experts my ass.
C: 就是,不能听专家的。走!咱们赶紧去超市,多囤点儿货。说不定明天还要涨。
jiùshì, bùnéng tīng zhuānjiā de. zǒu! zánmen gǎnjǐn qù chāoshì, duō tún diǎnr huò. shuōbudìng míngtiān hái yào zhǎng.
Exactly - you can't listen to the experts. Let's go! Let's hurry to the supermarket and stock up on supplies. You never know, the prices might go up again tomorrow.

Key Vocabulary

发改委 fāgǎiwěi Development and Reform Commission
公布 gōngbù to announce publicly
零售 língshòu retail
监测 jiāncè to monitor
jìn nearly
上涨 shàngzhǎng to increase
本次 běncì this time
针对 zhēnduì to be aimed at
粮油 liángyóu cooking oil
and
gòng altogether
涨价 zhǎngjià to increase in price
涨幅 zhǎngfú rate of increase
少报 shǎobào to understate
jiào to let
面对 miànduì to face
大幅 dàfú substantial
出现 chūxiàn to arise
恐慌 kǒnghuāng panic
为此 wèicǐ for this reason
提醒 tíxǐng to remind
广大 guǎngdà broad-based, vast
消费者 xiāofèizhě consumers
此次 cǐcì this time
调整 tiáozhěng adjustment
引发 yǐnfā to lead to
通货膨胀 tōnghuò péngzhàng currency inflation
胡说八道 húshuōbādào to talk nonsense
狗屁 gǒupì B.S.
tún to stock up on

Supplementary Vocabulary

国务院 guówùyuàn State Council
委员会 wěiyuánhuì committee
批发 pīfā wholesale
百分比 bǎifēnbǐ percentage
幅度 fúdù range, scope
小幅 xiǎofú minor, insubstantial
因此 yīncǐ therefore, consequently

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