正文
Why South Africa is running out of Marmite
为何马麦酱在南非缺货
Amid the many tragedies befalling the world, a shortage of glossy dark goo to spread on bread is surely small beer. But not to the millions of South Africans who, quite inexplicably, like the salty sludge and are struggling to cope with the worst Marmite shortage since the end of apartheid.
在世界各地发生的众多悲剧之中，一种涂抹在面包上的、有光泽的黑色糊糊缺货了，根本不值一提。但是，对于数百万的南非人来说，这事儿却很严重。颇让人不解的是，他们很喜爱这种咸味烂糊，并且正在努力应对自种族隔离制度结束以来最严重的马麦酱短缺问题。
In South Africa Marmite is indeed thinly spread. Shoppers first noted shortages at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, when South Africa banned alcohol sales in an attempt to free up beds in hospitals that would otherwise be filled with tipsy drivers or drunken brawlers.
在南非，马麦酱确实铺货很少。消费者第一次发现短缺是在新冠疫情的早期，那时南非禁止卖酒，这是为了试图腾出医院的床位，不然的话，这些床位都要被有点儿醉的司机或者酒后闹事之徒给占满了。
The ban had an unexpected consequence. With beer sales on ice, South Africa's main breweries sharply reduced their production. With much less lager fermenting in their vats, they were also producing far less brewer's yeast, the beery by-product that is the main ingredient of Marmite.
这项禁令产生了一个意料之外的后果。由于啤酒销量遇冷，南非主要的几个啤酒厂大幅压缩了生产。随着酒桶里发酵的啤酒大量减少，啤酒厂生产的啤酒酵母也少了很多，而这一啤酒的副产品正是马麦酱的主要原料。
Nine months since the lifting of the last prohibition, production ought to have recovered, allowing shops to refill their shelves. Yet it has not.
自从最后一道禁酒令解除，已经过去九个月，马麦酱的生产本应该已经恢复，使商店得以重新装满货架。然而，并没有。
That the shortage continues is because of another hiccup in the supply chain. Pioneer Foods, the local manufacturer of Marmite, reportedly said that its production has been slowed by a shortage of sodium carbonate, which is used in the manufacturing process.
短缺问题延续是由于供应链上的另一个小插曲。据报道，当地的马麦酱制造商 Pioneer Foods 表示，由于生产过程中使用的碳酸钠短缺，其生产已经放缓。
Perhaps, though, some good may yet emerge from South Africa's forced diet of dry bread. In a country that is often divided along lines of race or wealth, all boundaries are transcended by love (or hatred) of Marmite.
不过，也许南非人被迫干吃面包终究会有些好处的。在一个经常依据种族或者财富划分阵营的国家，对马麦酱的爱（或恶）却超越了所有的界限。
主编：Amber、Lucky
品控：大芃、Luni
审核：Lucky
重点词汇
run out of
用完；耗尽
例句：I ran out of my last bottle of soy sauce.
amid
/əˈmɪd/
prep. 在……中间
搭配短语：amid the lemon groves
搭配短语：amid great applause
同义词：mid，amidst
搭配短语：amid street protests and a dire economic crisis
befall
/bɪˈfɑːl/
v.（令人不快的事）降临到（某人）头上；发生
近义词：happen
例句：We wish that no harm should befall them.
glossy
/ˈɡlɑː.si/
adj. 有光泽的
相关词汇：gloss（n. 光泽）
例句：The hair oil gives my hair a gloss.
goo
/ɡuː/
n.（令人生厌的）黏性物质
英文释义：any unpleasant sticky wet substance
small beer
无足轻重的人（或事物）；度数很低的啤酒；劣质啤酒
例句：He is small beer.
同义句：He is small potatoes.
inexplicably
/ˌɪn.ɪkˈsplɪk.ə.bli/
adv. 无法解释地，费解地
相关词汇：explicable（adj. 容易解释的；容易理解的）
近义词：explainable
词根词缀：in-（表否定）
例句：She inexplicably called the trip off.
sludge
/slʌdʒ/
n. 糊；烂泥；淤泥
近义词：goo（n.（令人生厌的）黏性物质）
cope with
对付，处理
例句：Humor helps people cope with stress and anxiety.
thinly
/ˈθɪn.li/
adv. 稀少地；缺乏地
相关词汇：thin（adj. 薄的；细的；瘦的）
搭配短语：thin population
搭配短语：He has thin hair.
spread
/spred/
v. 铺开
词性拓展：spread（n. 抹在面包上的东西，抹酱）
free up
使……自由；释放
相关词汇：free（v. 使……自由；释放）
例句：We freed up time each week for a meeting.
tipsy
/ˈtɪp.si/
adj. 微醉的
英文释义：slightly drunk
brawler
/ˈbrɑːlər/
n. 闹事之徒
相关词汇：brawl
近义词：fight
搭配短语：a drunken brawl
on ice
（计划等）被搁置；冰镇
例句：The coke is on ice.
brewery
/ˈbrʊr.i/
n. 啤酒厂，啤酒公司
相关词汇：brew
近义词：make
搭配短语：to brew some tea，to brew coffee
词根词缀：-ery（表场所）
派生词：bakery（a place where bread is baked）
英文释义：a factory where beer is made，or a company that makes beer
lager
/ˈlɑː.ɡɚ/
n. 拉格啤酒，贮藏啤酒
拓展写法：lager beer
文化补充：在工业化生产之前，德国等地区的人们把酒桶放在地窖中，低温长期发酵制作出来的就是拉格啤酒，其实在德语里，lager 就有贮藏室的意思。
ferment
/fɚˈment/
v. 发酵；（思维的）酝酿
例句：He lets ideas ferment in his mind first.
词性拓展：ferment（/ˈfɜːment/ n.（政治或社会上的）动乱，骚动）
例句：Many countries are in ferment.
vat
/væt/
n. 酒桶；大桶，大盆，缸
搭配短语：a vat of oil
相关词汇：VAT（增值税）
全称：value added tax
例句：Prices include VAT.
brewer's yeast
啤酒酵母
相关词汇：brewer（啤酒酿造者）
lift
/lɪft/
v. 撤销，解除；抬；举
搭配短语：to lift a lockdown
hiccup
/ˈhɪk.ʌp/
n. 小问题，暂时性耽搁；打嗝
英文释义：a small problem or temporary delay
reportedly
/rɪˈpɔːr.t̬ɪd.li/
adv. 据说；据报道；据传闻
英文释义：according to what some people say
例句：The band has reportedly decided to split up.
may yet
早晚，总有一天
例句：I may yet get thin.
transcend
/trænˈsend/
v. 超出，超越（通常的界限）
词根词缀：trans-（表“超越”）
词根词缀：cend（含“向上”意味）
英文释义：to move upward and beyond sth.
例句：Being eye to eye with my dog gave me a feeling of connection that transcends words.
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