[E431]Casting asparagus
本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist 2016年第23期，Britain版块。
Agriculture
A British vegetable enjoys a boom
Jun 4th 2016
“ASPARAGUS[1]”, wrote Marcel Proust, “transform[s] my humble chamber-pot[夜壶;便壶] into a flask of perfume[一瓶香水].” The fragrance[香味,芬芳] of success has also clung to[cling to依靠;依附] the elegant vegetable in recent years. While farming in Britain is a shadow of its former self[2], the asparagus industry[芦笋产业,芦笋产业] has boomed (see chart). For none of the other 20 or so vegetables tracked by official government figures has [the increase in home-grown production] been so dramatic over the past decade[3] (indeed, production of many crops, like cauliflowers[花椰菜;白菜花] and leeks[韭菜;大葱;西蒜;青蒜], has fallen).
······
注释
[1]asparagus [ə'spærəgəs]
a plant with pale green juicy stems that are cooked and eaten as a vegetable 石刁柏,芦笋
[2]a shadow of your/its former self
a smaller, weaker, or less important form of someone or something.
With most of its best players traded away, the team was reduced to a shadow of its former self.
a shadow of your former self
if you are a shadow of your former self, you are less strong or less powerful than you were in the past.
He came back to work after 3 months, completely cured of the cancer but a shadow of his former self.
*[3]For none of the other 20 or so vegetables tracked by official government figures has [the increase in home-grown production] been so dramatic over the past decade.
过去10年，大概另外20种蔬菜的产量中没有像asparagus增长如此迅猛的了。
······
A few factors explain the boom. Growers and suppliers have worked out how to get the vegetable to the buyer in perfect condition, says Chris Chinn of the Asparagus Growers Association. A marketing gimmick[营销噱头] has also helped to fix home-grown asparagus in the minds of consumers as quintessentially[典型地;标准地] English: farmers like to start the harvest of their crops on April 23rd, St George’s Day[1].
······
注释
[1]St George’s Day 圣佐治日
圣佐治日即4月23日，是一个带有强烈宗教色彩的纪念日，主要在一些将圣佐治作为守护圣者的国家和地区间举行，包括英格兰、德国、格鲁吉亚、保加利亚、葡萄牙以及加泰罗尼亚。在英国，圣佐治日同时也是英格兰地区的国庆日。公元303年的这一天，圣佐治因试图阻止罗马皇帝对基督徒的迫害而被杀。
······
The asparagus industry may also have been an inadvertent[非故意地,无意地] beneficiary[受益者,受惠者] of Britain’s measly[1] pay growth. Real wages are still 4% lower than in 2008. Low pay has encouraged farms to shift away from activities that need expensive machinery to those that require more labour. Asparagus is one of the most labour-intensive[劳动密集型的] crops around, says Mr Chinn. One asparagus farmer in Suffolk[萨福克(英国东部一郡)] says he often tries to employ locals, but finds their working attitude suboptimal[2] compared with eastern Europeans.
······
注释
[1]measly
too small in size or amount, or not enough 少(或小)得可怜的,微不足道的
a measly amount of money
微不足道的一点儿钱
a measly little present
小小的礼物
[2]suboptimal：未达最佳标准的,非最理想的,非最满意的,非最适宜的
······
Although the past decade has been good to them, things have been tougher for asparagus farmers recently. They usually begin harvesting in April, yet chilly[寒冷的;怕冷的] weather (temperatures were 0.9°C below the average for that month) meant that many could not start until May. Now farmers face the opposite problem: with warm temperatures in May, yields[生产,出产,收益] will shoot up[暴涨;迅速成长], creating an asparagus glut[1] and lower prices. Overall, though, it is a success story not to be sniffed at[2].
······
注释
[1]glut：a supply of something that is much greater than can be sold or is needed or wanted 供过于求；供应过剩
The fall in demand for coffee could cause a glut on/in the market.
咖啡需求减少会导致市场供应过剩。
The current glut of graduates means that many of them will not be able to find jobs.
现在大学毕业生人数过多，这就意味着他们当中许多人无法找到工作。
[2]not to be sniffed at：valuable or worth having 不可蔑视的；值得认真对待的
very good, or good enough to consider having
A two million pound profit is not to be sniffed at.
200万英镑的利润不可轻视。
not to be sneezed/sniffed at
1）if something, especially an amount of money, is not to be sneezed at, it is large enough to be worth having
eg：And there's the increase in salary to be considered. £3000 extra a year is not to be sneezed at.
2）if something or someone is not to be sneezed at, they are important or dangerous enough to deserve serious attention
eg：Goodman is not a man to be sniffed at.
······
以上言论不代表本人立场。
原文摘自The economist，仅外语学习之用。
其中生词解释来源于Cambridge Dictionaries
回复“eco”或点击下方“阅读原文”查看系列笔记。