对话文本


C: hey, there!

K: hello, Carl. Have you heard about the contaminated baby formula?

C: yes. Actually, I'm quite concerned about that. It's confirmed that 4 babies died and more than 6,200 infants nationwide have developed kidney stones after drinking the tainted formula.

K: what a tragedy!

C: I remember the public outrage when it was discovered that 171 infants had suffered malnutrition because of the ingestoin of inferior milk power in Fuyang City, Anhui Province in 2004.

K: food safety has been a long-standing concern nationwide.

C: well, I think this recent incident will have a far-reaching negative impact on the milk industry.

K: definitely, in the case of the tainted milk powder, for example, not only the offending company suffers losses, but the whole milk market suffers a sharp drop in sales.

C: yes, you are right.

K: but I don't know if it is only an isolated incident or whether it reflects a broader problem in the milk industry?

C: I guess it's an industry-wide problem, as 69 batches of baby formula produced by 22 companies have been found to be contaminated.

K: that's right. This will quickly undermine public confidence in the milk industry possibly for years to come.

C: definitely! With the public disclosure, buyers' confidence seems to be waning.

K: I think China's food industry needs a shake-up.

参考文本


嗨,你好!
你好,你听说婴幼儿奶粉事件了吗?
听说了.实际上,我很关注这件事.经证实,现在有4个婴儿丧生了,6200个婴儿患上了肾结石.
太惨了!
我至今还记得,2004年在安徽省阜阳市,因为服用劣质奶粉,有171名婴儿营养不良,当时也激起了民愤.
食品安全想来都为人们所关注.
哦,我想这次奶粉事件肯定会重创奶制品行业.
当然,比如在这次的奶粉事件中,不仅相关的不法企业损失惨重,而且奶制品市场销量大减.
是啊.
但是不知道这是个案,还是反映出整个奶制品行业的问题呢?
我想整个行业都有问题,22家企业生产的69批婴儿奶粉都被查出有问题.
是啊,今后几年内,人们对奶制品行业都不会有什么信心了.
是啊,一经曝光,消费者就信心大减.
我想中国的食品行业需要重新整顿.

词汇讲解
1.Conteminate: to make a substance or place dirty or no longer pure by adding a substance that is dangerous or carries disease 污染;弄脏 ~ sth (with sth) VN

The drinking water has become contaminated with lead. 饮用水被铅污染了.
contaminated blood/food/soil 受到污染的血液╱食物╱土壤

2.outrage: a strong feeling of shock and anger 愤怒;义愤;愤慨

The judge's remarks caused public outrage. 裁判的话引起了公愤.
She was filled with an overwhelming sense of outrage. 她义愤填膺.
Environmentalists have expressed outrage at the ruling. 环境保护主义者对这一裁决表示愤慨.

3.Malnutrition: a poor condition of health caused by a lack of food or a lack of the right type of food 营养不良

4.far-reaching: likely to have a lot of influence or many effects 影响深远的;广泛的

far-reaching consequences/implications 影响深远的后果;意味深长
far-reaching changes/reforms 意义深远的变革／改革

5.isolated: single; happening once 单独的;只出现一次的

The police said the attack was an isolated incident. 警方称这次袭击只是个别事件.

6.Shake up: a situation in which a lot of changes are made to a company, an organization, etc. in order to improve the way in which it works (机构的)重大调整,重组

a management shake-up 管理层的大调整

语言点简析
1....and more than 6,200 infants nationwide have developed kidney stones after drinking the tainted formula...

"develop"有患病之意, Her son developed asthma when he was two. 她的儿子两岁时患了哮喘.
Tainted就是"被污染的"的意思, tainted drinking water 污染的饮用水.

2.This will quickly undermine public confidence in the milk industry possibly for years to come.

"消弱,打击某人的信心"在英语里就是"undermine sb's confidence".
Undermine: to make something, especially somebody's confidence or authority, gradually weaker or less effective 逐渐削弱(信心、权威等);使逐步减少效力 VN
Our confidence in the team has been seriously undermined by their recent defeats. 他们最近的几次失败已严重动摇了我们对该队的信心.
This crisis has undermined his position. 这场危机已损害了他的地位.

3.buyers' confidence seems to be waning...

wane这个单词本来是指月亏,月缺,暗指事物衰退,落寞.
Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来.
Their popularity waned during that period. 在那期间他们的受欢迎程度下降了.
英语里有个习语,叫wax and wane,意思就是指"兴衰枯荣,阴晴圆缺".