Paranoia

Carmel High School from Indiana won the beginners division. Vestavia Hills High School in Alabama won the advanced division. Team member John Reinhardt says economics is a good way for young people to learn to make their own decisions.

印第安纳州的Carmel高中赢得了初级组的胜利。阿拉巴马州的Vestavia Hills高中在高级组中获胜。小组成员John Reinhardt认为经济学是年轻人学习自己做决定的一个好方法。 

Back in Northern California, a middle school in South San Francisco started a school bookstore this year. Students help operate the store. But mostly the goal is to help them improve their English skills and learn to love reading and literature.

回到北加利福尼亚，旧金山南部的一所初中今年开办了一个学校书店。学生帮助经营书店。不过，开设书店的主要目的是帮助他们提高英语技能并能逐渐爱上阅读和文学。

Test scores at Parkway Heights Middle School have been very low for the last seven years. The students come largely from poor, Spanish-speaking families. Two language arts teachers opened the bookstore in April with a choice of interesting books at good prices. Trish Issac and Swaicha Chanduri received money from Schoolwide, a group that helps schools set up bookstores.

Parkway Heights初中在过去七年中分数一直都很低。该校学生多数来自说西班牙语的低收入家庭。两位语言学老师今年4月开设了这个书店，他们选择了一些价格适中且有趣的书。 Trish Issac和Swaicha Chanduri接受来自Schoolwide的资金。Schoolwide是一个帮助学校建立书店的组织。

Teachers hope the bookstore will be open more than one day a week, especially during summer vacation. The store may be competition for the school library. As one eighth grader noted, the bookstore has new books, and if you want to buy them, you can. Also, the library is very quiet, she says, while the bookstore "seems like a more social area."

老师们希望书店每周开放时间多于1天，尤其是在暑假期间。书店也许会与学校图书馆形成竞争。就像一个8年级学生提到的，书店有新书，而且如果你想买，就可以买。并且，她说，图书馆太安静了，可书店“似乎更像一个社交场合。”

Business competitions for young people can be a good way to learn about economics and finance.In Northern California, the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship recently held a business plan competition. Seventeen-year-old Huong Cheng won first place and now goes on to the national level.

 

开展年轻人之间的商业竞赛是他们学习经济和金融的好途径。最近在加利福尼亚州的北部，美国国家创业指导基金会举办了一次商业计划比赛。17岁的Huong Cheng在这次比赛中拔得头筹，目前，现在已进入国家级比赛环节 。 

Her idea is for a business where high school students volunteer to do small tasks for old people. The families of the retirees would pay her company. Then the company would share the profits with school clubs that the students belong to.

她的创意是成立一家公司，高中生志愿者在这家公司里志愿帮助老人做一些小事。拥有退休人员的家庭需要向她的公司支付一定的费用。然后这家公司将和学生所属的社团共同分享获得的利润。

Another competition, the National Economics Challenge, reached the finals last month in New York City. Sixteen students competed from four high schools in Alabama, California, Hawaii and Indiana.

另一项竞赛，国家经济挑战杯，本月末也将在纽约进行最后的决赛。16名来自阿拉巴马州，加利福尼亚州，夏威夷群岛和印第安纳州的四所高中的学生参加了这次比赛。

They raced to answer questions on different subjects -- from personal finance to economic theory to current events. Teachers said the current problems in the economy offered a lot of examples to use in the classroom.

比赛时选手需要回答各种各样不同的问题，其内容包括从个人理财观点到经济理论再到当前的时事政治。老师们说当前经济领域上的问题为课堂提供了大量的事实案例。

The nonprofit National Council on Economic Education has held the challenge for eight years with the Goldman Sachs Foundation. The winners and their teachers each received three thousand dollars in United States Savings Bonds.

非盈利经济教育理事会和高盛基金会一起举办挑战杯已经有8年了。获胜者及其指导教师每人将会得到来自美国储蓄公债提供的三千美元奖金。

The meeting in Rome was officially called the High-Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy. Using food crops to make fuel was a major point of debate. In the end, Jacques Diouf, head of the F.A.O., said differences of opinion about biofuels were too wide to settle. Some countries called for international guidelines on production. But the final declaration called only for in-depth study to make sure biofuels do not threaten food security.

在罗马召开的会议官方名称叫做“世界粮食安全高级会议：对气候改变和生物能源的挑战”。利用粮食作物制造燃料是会议的辩论重点之一。最后，FAO的总干事Jacques Diouf认为关于生物燃料的不同观点太广泛以至于无法解决。一些国家呼吁制定粮食生产的国际指南。但是，最后公告仅呼吁进行进一步的研究以确保生物燃料不会危险粮食安全。

The European Union and the United States both support biofuels. Before the conference, American Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said biofuels play only a small part in higher food prices. He said other causes include rising energy prices and poor harvests in major grain-producing countries. He also noted increased restrictions on food exports.

欧盟和美国都支持生物燃料。在此次会议之前，美国农业部长Ed Schafer说生物能源只是粮食价格高涨的很小一部分原因。他指出其他原因包括不断飞涨的能源价格和主要粮食生产国欠收。他还指出在粮食出口方面增加的限制。

High food prices have increased hunger and poverty and produced rioting in some countries. In addition to short-term measures, countries are being urged to think of longer-lasting answers to feed a growing world.

高粮价已经加剧了一些国家的饥饿和贫困并引发骚乱。除了短期措施之外，会议还敦促这些国家思考长远解决方案以满足不断增长的世界粮食需求。

The final declaration said eight hundred sixty-two million people are still undernourished in the world today. And it noted that food prices are expected to remain high in the years to come.

最终声明指出，目前世界上仍有8.62亿人营养不良。同时还指出近年内粮食价格仍会继续上涨。

A United Nations conference on rising food prices ended with an agreement to invest more in agriculture.

一个关于粮食价格上涨问题的联合国会议结束，会议达成了对增加农业投资的协议。 

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said food production needs to increase fifty percent by two thousand thirty to meet rising demand. The cost, he said, could top fifteen to twenty billion dollars a year over a number of years.

联合国秘书长潘基文表示，截止到2030年，粮食产品需要增加50%以满足增长的需求。他说，每年的成本可能会高达150亿到200亿美元，并且会持续好几年。

About one hundred eighty countries were represented at the three-day summit meeting last week in Rome. The final declaration called for immediate support for agricultural production, including seeds, fertilizer and other supplies. It also urged countries to reduce agricultural trade barriers.The delegates nearly failed to reach a final agreement. There were objections from Latin America on trade-related issues.

大约有180个国家的代表参加了上周在罗马召开的为期3天的会议。会议最终宣言呼吁即刻投入对农业生产的资助，包括种子、肥料以及其它供应。同时还敦促各国减少农业贸易壁垒。代表们几乎没能达成最终协议，由于拉丁美洲针对贸易相关事务提出了异议。

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says agriculture is the main support for seventy percent of the world's poor. Yet, the F.A.O. says, aid to agriculture fell almost sixty percent from nineteen eighty-four to two thousand four. In nineteen eighty, seventeen percent of official development assistance went to agriculture. By two thousand six that share was three percent.

联合国粮农组织指出，全世界70%贫穷人口的主要支柱产业是农业。然而，粮农组织指出，农业援助从1984年到2004年下降了近60%. 在1980年，17%的官方发展援助用到了农业上。到2006年，援助份额下降到了3%。

Still, new findings show that Americans are driving less. The Federal Highway Administration says the number of kilometers traveled on public roads has dropped since late two thousand six. Many people may be driving less because of high gasoline prices. But transportation officials worry that less demand for gasoline will mean shortages of money from fuel taxes that support roads.

另外，新调查表明美国人比以前开车少了。美国联邦公路总署称，汽车在公共道路上行驶的公里数自2006年年底开始下降。许多人减少驾驶可能是因为油价高昂。但是交通部官员担心对汽油需求的减少将意味着从燃料税当中征收的养路资金不足。

Use of public transportation, though, is up. The American Public Transportation Association says it increased three percent in the first three months of this year over last year. High fuel prices are also affecting air travel. The International Air Transport Association expects the industry to lose at least two billion dollars this year, mainly because of prices for jet fuel.

不过，公共交通的使用率有所提高。美国公共交通协会指出，与去年相比，今年的头三个月公共交通的使用提高了百分之三。高昂的燃油费也影响了航空业。国际航空运输协会预计该行业今年至少会损失二十亿美元，主要原因是飞机燃油价格上涨。

This week, more air carriers in the United States announced plans to cut flights and jobs and remove older, less fuel-efficient planes from service. Continental Airlines said record-high fuel prices have produced the worst crisis for the industry since the terrorist attacks of two thousand one.

本周，更多美国航空公司宣称打算减少航班和工作岗位的计划，还计划停止使用老旧耗油的飞机。大陆航空公司说史无前例的高昂油价导致了自2001年恐怖袭击后该行业的最大危机。

Continental announced Thursday that it will reduce flights in the United States by sixteen percent during the last three months of the year. The airline will cut three thousand jobs, about seven percent of its positions worldwide.

大陆航空周四宣布将在今年最后的三个月里减少在美国百分之十六的航班。该航空公司将削减三千个工作岗位，大约占其全球总岗位的百分之七。

Place the harvested items on a clean surface or directly into storage containers. Do not put them on the ground.Use clean water to remove dirt, and keep the water clean. Usually it is better not to remove outer leaves from fruits and vegetables before storage. Without the leaves, food can become dry.

将收获的食物放在干净的表面，或者直接放到储藏容器里。不要把它们放在地面上。用洁净的水清除污垢，并保持水的清洁。通常，在储藏之前最好不要掰掉水果和蔬菜外面的叶子。没有了叶子，食物容易变干。

Fruits and vegetables must be cool from field heat before they are put into storage. If they are placed in cool water, however, it can spread fungus throughout the food. A better idea is to harvest foods either early or late in the day, then leave them to cool naturally.

在放入储藏室之前，水果和蔬菜必须先从田间温度冷却下来。但是，如果把它们放入冷水中，会使真菌在食物中蔓延。比较好的办法是收获食物时，选择一天中不太早也不太晚的时间，这样它们就能自然冷却。

Some fruits and vegetables must be stored at zero to four degrees Celsius. Any colder, and they might be damaged. Others need four to eight degrees. And still others must be stored above eight degrees.

一些水果和蔬菜必须在0-4摄氏度储藏。再冷的话，它们可能就变坏了。而另一些要在4-8摄氏度储藏，还有一些必须在8摄氏度以上储藏。

Wet the fruits and vegetables so they do not become too dry. The best time to do this is before storage. Cover the items in plastic once they reach the right "critical temperature" for storage. Most fruits and vegetables need the relative humidity in storage to be kept between eighty-five and ninety-five percent. Finally, leave space between the food containers and the walls of the storage area so air can flow. Keep the space clean. And try not to open the doors too often.

把水果和蔬菜弄湿，它们就不会变得太干。做这件事的最好时机是在储藏之前。一旦达到合适的“临界温度”就用塑料膜把它们包起来。大部分水果和蔬菜在储藏时需要保持85%-95%的相对湿度。最后，在储藏容器和储藏室墙壁之间留有一定的距离，以便空气流通。保持储藏室的干净，并且尽量不要经常开门。

Before refrigerators, homes usually had ice boxes. But another way to keep food cool without the need for electricity is to use an evaporative cooler. This is easy to make and does not even use ice.

有冰箱之前，家里通常都有冰盒。但另一种无需电力即可冷藏食物的方法是使用蒸发式冷却盒。这个盒子很容易做而且甚至不需要使用冰。

A common design is a tall box with food placed on several shelves inside. The shelves are pieces of metal with many small holes through them. The sides of the box are covered with pieces of thick cloth. Containers of water are placed at the top and bottom of the cooler. The ends of each piece of cloth lie in the water so the cloth stays wet.

常见的一种是将食物放在几层隔层上的高盒子。隔层是用带有许多小孔的金属板做成。盒子侧面覆盖有厚布。在冷却盒的顶部和底部都放置装有水的容器。每块布的末端都浸入水中，这样可以使布保持湿润。

Put the cooler in the open air but not in the sun. Air will pass through the wet cloth. The inside of the box will stay several degrees cooler than the outside air temperature. And this may be cool enough to keep foods fresh at least for a short time.

把冷却盒放于室外，但不要放在阳光下。空气将流经潮湿的布。盒子内部将保持比室外温度低几度。这样，足够冷的温度至少在短期内可以使食物保持新鲜。

Cold storage in a freezer, however, can keep foods in good condition for months after the growing season. Yet foods can be damaged if they are kept too cold. The British development group Practical Action says the best way to prepare foods for storage is at harvest time while still in the field. Use a sharp knife to avoid damage.

但是，冷冻在冰箱中，可以使食物在生长季节后几个月中保持良好。然而，如果食物被保存在过低的温度中，它们也可能会被破坏。英国发展组织“实际行动”认为，用于准备食物储藏最好的办法就是收获时在田地里就进行储藏准备。用一把锋利的刀以避免破坏植物。

There was more evidence this week of the effects of high oil prices on the transportation industry.Automakers reported further drops in sales of trucks and SUVs, sport utility vehicles, in the United States. Big, fuel-hungry vehicles brought in big profits -- until Americans faced big costs for fuel. Now they want smaller and more fuel-efficient cars.

本周，有更多的证据证实了高油价对运输产业的影响。汽车制造商公布的数据表明，卡车及运动型多功能车(SUVs)的国内销量进一步下滑。耗油量大的大型汽车带来了巨大利润，直到美国人面对巨大的燃料成本为止。现在他们需要更小，油耗更低的汽车。

The head of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, says the prices are changing consumer behavior, maybe permanently. G.M. sales in the United States in May dropped thirty percent from last year. The Ford Motor Company had a nineteen percent drop.

通用汽车公司总裁Rick Wagoner指出，价格正在改变消费者的消费习惯，这种改变也许是永久的。今年五月与比去年相比，通用汽车在美国的销售量下滑了30%。而福特公司销售量下降了19%。

Toyota sales in the United States were down eight percent. But another Japanese maker, Honda, reported an eleven percent increase on strong sales of cars. General Motors announced it will close four truck factories in North America and expand car production. It may also sell its Hummer division. Hummers are military-like vehicles.

丰田公司在美国的销售额下降了8%。不过，另一家日本制造商本田的报道表明，其强劲的汽车销售量增加了11%。 通用汽车宣布将关闭北美的4个卡车工厂，并且会扩大轿车生产。而且，该公司也将卖掉其悍马分公司。悍马是军用型汽车。

But Rick Wagoner said G.M. will go forward with plans to make the Chevy Volt, a car powered mainly by electricity. He says it will be available no later than the end of two thousand ten.

但是Rick Wagoner称，通用汽车将开展制造一款主要以电力为能源的Chevy Volt汽车计划。他说，这款车将最晚在2010年底推出。

An estimated nine million seven hundred thousand people in low- and middle-income countries were in need of H.I.V. treatment last year. The report says that by the end of the year, just over thirty percent of them were getting it.

去年在中低收入国家中，大约有970万人需要得到HIV治疗。该报告指出，截止到去年年底，只有百分之三十几的人得到了治疗。

The report says price reductions are a main reason why more people with H.I.V., including more pregnant women, are receiving the drugs. Also, delivery systems have been redesigned to better serve individual countries and smaller health centers. And treatments are simpler than in the past.

报告指出，更多人（包括更多孕妇）正在服用HIV药物的主要原因是价格下降。同样，运输系统也经过重新设计以便能更好的服务于单个国家和小型卫生所。还有，治疗也比以前简单。

But the report notes that huge barriers remain in dealing with the AIDS epidemic. Getting patients to stay on their therapy is difficult. There are still large numbers of people who do not get tested for H.I.V. And there are many others who get tested too late and die within months.

不过报告指出，在对应AIDS流行病方面仍然存在这巨大的障碍。让病人坚持治疗非常困难。仍然有大量的人没有接受HIV检测。而且还有许多人太晚接受检测，而在数月之内死亡。

The report also says there is not enough joint treatment of H.I.V. and the related infections that most often kill AIDS patients. Tuberculosis, for example, is the leading cause of death among AIDS patients in Africa. And still another problem is the shortage of health care workers in the developing world. Many move to wealthier nations for better pay and living conditions.

报告还指出，目前并没有足够的艾滋病联合治疗以及针对最易导致艾滋病患者死亡的HIV感染的联合治疗。例如，结核是导致非洲艾滋病患者死亡的首要死因。此外，另一个问题是，在发展中国家中，卫生护理工作者短缺。许多人都因较高的收入和更好的居住条件而移居到更富有的国家去了。

A United Nations report says almost three million people in developing countries are now receiving drugs for H.I.V. This is an increase of almost one million people from two thousand six. Still, the hope was to reach three million by two thousand five.

一份联合国报告指出，在发展中国家，大约有300万人母线正在服用治疗HIV的药物。这一数字与2006年相比大约增加了100万人。同时，人们原本希望截止到2005年，艾滋病患者人数达到300万。

The World Health Organization, UNAIDS and UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, released the new report Tuesday.W.H.O. Director-General Margaret Chan welcomed the progress. But she noted that antiretroviral therapy, or ART, alone will not solve the problem.

世界卫生组织、UNAIDS和联合国儿童基金会（UNICEF）周二发布了这项新报告。世卫组织总干事Margaret Chan认为这一进步是可喜的。但她同时也指出，仅仅依靠抗逆转录酶病毒疗法（ART）是不能解决问题的。

MARGARET CHAN: "For every two persons we manage to provide them with ART, another five persons get infected. So again, we cannot underestimate the power of prevention."The new report says almost seventy-five percent of people receiving H.I.V. drugs are in Africa. Sixty percent of the people with H.I.V. in Africa are women.

MARGARET CHAN说：“当我们努力为每两个人提供ART时，另外5个人已经感染了艾滋病毒。因此再一次强调，我们不能低估预防的力量。”该最新报告指出，服用治疗艾滋病药物的人中几乎75%来自非洲。非洲感染艾滋病的人口中有60%是妇女。

Antiretroviral therapy suppresses H.I.V., human immunodeficiency virus. The drugs help patients live longer without developing AIDS. The disease robs the body of its natural defenses against infections.

抗逆转录酶病毒疗法抑制HIV病毒（人体免疫缺损病毒）。这种药物帮助病人延长寿命，并且避免病情发展成AIDS（获得性免疫缺陷综合征）。爱滋病会使身体丧失对传染病的天然抵抗力。