托福英语阅读材料：HiddenHunger

　是不是填饱肚子以后就不会感到饥饿了呢?这篇托福英语阅读材料要告诉我们的是填饱肚子之后的另一种饥饿——对营养的饥饿。

 

　　This refers not to the overt and obvious hunger of poor people who are unable to afford enough to eat, but to a more insidious type caused by eating food that is cheap and filling but deficient in essential vitamins and micronutrients. A World Health Organisation report pointed out recently that this problem is widespread, in particular in the Third World, where families may fill themselves with cheap rice, say, but be unable to afford the fruit, vegetables and meat needed to provide a balanced diet. A related cause is that some of the “green revolution” crops of the 1960s and 1970s that were created specifically to reduce starvation are often short of nutrients such as zinc, iron and vitamin A. The term hidden hunger is not often found outside specialist journals and is more common in news agency copy than in newspapers and magazines: at some point along the road to publication the phrase is blue-pencilled by sub-editors who regard it as jargon. It is sometimes also employed as a general term for the extreme poverty that can exist undetected or unacknowledged in developed countries; it has appeared in this sense in the USA and New Zealand in recent years.

　　隐形饥饿并不是指没有钱买足够食物的人经历的显而易见的饥饿，这是一种潜在的饥饿形式，由吃大量且便宜但是缺乏必要的维生素和微量元素的食物引起。世界卫生组织指出目前隐形饥饿分布很广，特别是在第三世界国家。那里的家庭仅用一些便宜的米饭来填饱肚子，承担不起必要的水果蔬菜和肉类来平衡饮食。相关的缘由是20世纪60.70年代绿色革命产生的旨在减少饥饿的农作物往往缺乏诸如锌、铁以及维生素A的营养成分。隐形饥饿一词除了在专业期刊以外很少使用，并且在通讯社原稿中更普通而不是在报纸和杂志中：在出版发行的某个时刻，这个词语被把他视为专业术语的副编辑修正过。在发达国家，这个词语也作为一般术语使用，来描述不被发现和承认的赤贫状态。近几年，在美国的新西兰这个词语以此意义出现。

 

　　Hidden hunger is unlike the hunger that comes from a lack of food. It is a chronic lack of vitamins and minerals that often has no visible warning signs, so that people who suffer from it may not even be aware of it. Its consequences are nevertheless disastrous: hidden hunger can lead to mental impairment,poor health and productivity, or even death. One in three people in the world suffer from hidden hunger. Women and children from the lower income groups in developing countries are often the most affected.

　　隐形饥饿和由于缺乏食物引起的饥饿不一样，这种饥饿时由于长期缺乏维生素和矿物质引起的，没有任何可视的警告标志，因此遭受隐形饥饿的甚至都注意不到。然而其后果是相当糟糕的：它会损害精神，健康以及生育能力，甚至导致死亡。世界上三分之一的人遭遇隐形饥饿。反战中国家低收入的儿童和妇女所受影响最深。

 

　　Notes

 

　　1.overt

 

　　not secret or hidden 公开的; 不隐秘的:

 

　　overt hostility 公开的敌意.

 

　　2.unable

 

　　adj ~ to do sth (esp fml 尤作文雅语) not having the ability, opportunity or authority to do sth 没有做某事的能力﹑ 机会或权力:

 

　　She is unable to walk. 她不能行走.

 

　　I tried to contact him but was unable to. 我竭力想与他联系, 但是没联系上.

 

　　3.insidious

 

　　adj spreading or acting gradually and unnoticed but with harmful effects 隐伏的; 潜在的; 暗中为害的:

 

　　an insidious disease 潜伏的疾病

 

　　insidious jealousy 暗暗产生的忌妒.

 

　　4.deficient

 

　　adj ~ in sth lacking in sth 缺乏; 缺少:

 

　　be deficient in skill, experience, knowledge, etc 缺乏技巧﹑ 经验﹑ 知识等

 

　　a diet deficient in iron 缺铁质的日常饮食.

 

　　5.widespread

 

　　adj.分布(或散布)广的, 普遍的

 

　　6.blue-pencil

 

　　vt. (用蓝色笔)修正

 

　　7.jargon

 

　　n.术语，行话

 

　　8.visible

 

　　adj that can be seen; in sight 可见的; 看得见的:

 

　　The hills were barely visible through the mist. 小山隐没在薄雾中难以看清.

 

　　This star is not visible to the naked eye. 这颗星肉眼看不见.