Pocket Change
花销的变化

So far today I’ve spent over 50 yuan. I bought coffee for myself and a friend and a bottle of water. The day’s only just starting and I need to buy breakfast and lunch as well as fork out (支付) for transport. I don’t lead a self-indulgent lifestyle and my expenditure doesn’t exceed my income. Day-to-day life can be expensive, especially city-living, so I find it difficult to imagine myself in a position where I only have 6.3 yuan a day to live on. This is the challenge set to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (国际消除贫困日) by the World Food Program (世界粮食计划署) and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (中国扶贫基金会).
到目前为止,我今天已经花了50多元。为自己和一位朋友买了咖啡和一瓶水。一天才刚刚开始,我需要买早餐和午餐,以及支付交通费用。我没有放纵的生活方式并且我的支出不会超过收入。日常生活是昂贵的,尤其在城市生活,所以我很难想象自己只用6.3 元过一天。这是世界粮食计划署和中国扶贫基金会为纪念国际消除贫困日号召人们参加的挑战活动。

Just think about all the unnecessary things we buy every day: that bar of chocolate, a can of coke or small trinket (小装饰品) from a street seller. All these things we take for granted or even see as a given right are luxuries to many people—simply being able to afford a bowl of plain rice and keeping themselves full throughout the day is a challenge.
想一想我们每一天买的所有不那么需要的东西: 那条巧克力、 一罐可乐或从街头商贩买的小装饰品。所有这些我们认为理所当然的东西甚至可以说是一种被赋予的权力,对很多人而言却是奢侈的— — 那些人能够简单负担得起一碗白米饭以及全天温饱自己,都是一个挑战。

Think for a moment, what was the last thing you bought? Did you really need it? The answer is probably “no”; you didn’t need it. China’s economy may be getting stronger and many more people can afford luxury brands. However, there are still over 100 million people living below the poverty line. It can be difficult to imagine when looking around all we see are expensive cars and top-brand bags.
请思考片刻,你买的最后一件东西是什么?你真的很需要它吗?答案可能是"不";你不需要它。中国的经济在逐渐变强,越来越多的人可以负担起奢侈品牌。但是,仍有超过 1 亿的人生活在贫困线下。这可能很难想象,因为环顾四周,我们所看到尽是昂贵的汽车和名牌包。

Just what can 6.3 yuan buy you in larger cities like Shanghai in today’s China? Considering a bottle of water is around 1 yuan and 1 portion of plain boiled rice is 2 yuan depending where you go. Feeding yourself for a day on just 6.3 yuan is possible—but difficult—and there will be little variety in your diet; getting the nutrients our bodies need is nearly impossible.
在今天的中国像上海这样的大城市里6.3 元只能为你买到什么?买一瓶大约 1 元的水和 1 份2 元的水煮白米饭要取决于你去哪儿买。一天只用 6.3 元填饱自己是有可能的— — 但也有难度— —你的饮食会有所不同;而获取我们身体需要的足够营养是几乎不可能的。

All of the points raised so far haven’t even taken rent, bills or transport into account. Just think, most of us will spend some people’s daily budget on a single chocolate bar (a small bar of Dove is about 6.5 yuan)!
而到目前为止提出的这些方面甚至还没考虑到租金、 帐单或交通费用。只是想想看,我们大多数人会把有些人一天的预算花在一条的巧克力棒上(一小条德芙巧克力是 6.5 元左右)!

The famous singing group ABBA once sang, “Money, money, money, must be funny, in a rich man’s world.”
著名乐队组合ABBA在歌中唱到,"钱、 钱、 钱,在有钱人的世界里一定很滑稽。"

本期题目

Is it impossible for you to feed yourself with 6.3 yuan in Beijing according to the passage?
It is doesn’t mention

No

Yes

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