經濟學人雙語精讀TE-2023-05-09期食品生產商：是的，他們行！

5.9每日一篇|英語外刊社

5.9每日一篇|英語外刊社

Food producers：Yes, they can (and box, and package)
Fat times for America’s big food
【1】For years nutritionists have advised Americans to steer clear ofgroceryshops’ centralaislesand instead fill their trolleys from the outlying shelves. Fresh meat, dairy products, fresh fruit andvegetablesoften line supermarket walls; cans, boxes and otherpackagesof lesssalubriousprocessed food arestackedin the middle. Some shoppers haveheededthat advice: sales ofcannedsoup have beenlacklustrein recent times, even as those of fresherrefrigeratedpotages have grown. Now makers of thepackagedstuff arestaginga comeback. This says as much about shifting economic conditions as it does about products on shelves.
【2】This month Conagra, which owns brands including Orville Redenbacher’spopcorn, Bird’s Eyefrozenveg and Duncan Hines cakemixes, reported bumper results for its latest quarter. Sales andmarginswere all up year on year. The companyexpectshigher earnings in thefiscalyear to May than it had previously forecast. A few weeks earlier General Mills, which peddlescannedsoups,frozenvegetablesand breakfast cereals,unveiledsimilarly juicyquarterlynumbers. McCormick & Company, which sellsspicesandsauces, and the J.M. Smucker Company, best known forjamsandpeanutbutter, are likewise having a sweet time of it. Investors are licking theirlips: Conagra’s share price has risen by8% in the past12months, compared with a decline of7% for the S&P500index of large American firms. General Mills’ has shot up by23%.
【3】For America’spackaged-food firms, the past decade was a cycle offamineandfeast. Lean years before thepandemicended when restaurants closed amid covid-19and peoplestockedtheir pantries. Stimuluschequesfrom the government meant that shoppers were flush and the food companies were not being nagged by their retail partners to offerdiscounts. Then in2022people began dining out again, puttingpressureonvolumeseven ascommodity-priceshockscaused by Russia’sinvasionof Ukraine pushed up costs.
【4】As big food’s results show, the industry is managing to ride out the latesttumult. For one thing, thepandemicmay havealteredconsumer habits, leading to a lasting bump in theconsumptionoffrozenandpackagedmeals. Americans are still eating more meals at home than they were before the first covid-19lockdowns. According to EY, a consultancy, nearly three in four consumers anyway do not carefullydistinguishfrozenvegetablesfrom the fresh sort, treating them as the same category. And thoughinflationis leading shoppers to trade down frombrandedproducts to retailers’ cheaper private-labelofferingswhen buying things likecosmeticsor home goods, they are still happy to pay a bit extra forpremiumgrub;20- and30-somethings inparticularseem readier to spend larger shares of their income on food and are less likely to trade down than theirelders.
【5】The food giants also benefit from a diverse range of products and brands, which they areadaptingto changing consumer tastes. Conagra has introduced (Italian readersavertyour eyes) “crustless pizzas”—microwavable boxes ofsauce,cheeseand meat—to appeal to the carb-phobic. ItsveganPower Bowls seem tailor-made for theavocado-loving yogacrowd. General Mills is marketingcerealas an after-school snack andalternativetodessertin the evening, rather than just something to munch for breakfast. And although they managed tomaintainor even expand theirmarginsby raising prices in line with their costs or faster, they might be all too content to take advantage of cheaperinputswithout concomitant price cuts.
【6】Can the good times last? The biggest question-mark hangs over salesvolumes, which could be crimped by those higher prices and aloomingeconomicslowdownthat maypromptshoppers to startpinchingpennies. If wage growth slows orunemploymentticks up, at some point people will probably cut back even on smallerluxuries. Should one food firm decide to trim prices in an effort to boostvolumesat itscompetitors’ expense, an old-fashioned price war mayerupt. For the time being, though, the foodmakers will keepreapingthe peacedividend.

①短語：

1.原文：For years nutritionists have advised Americans to steer clear of grocery shops’ central aisles

詞典：steer clear of sb/sth 避開，躲避，繞開

例句：I think a lot of people, women in particular, steer clear of these sensitive issues.

我認為很多人，特別是女性，都會回避這些敏感問題。

2.原文：Now makers of the packaged stuff are staging a comeback.

詞典：make/stage a comeback 1.復出，重返，東山再起 2.再度流行

例句：Tight fitting T-shirts are making a comeback.

緊身T恤再度流行起來。

Sixties singing star Petula Clark is making a comeback.

60年代的歌星佩杜拉·克拉克復出了。

3.原文：Investors are licking their lips

詞典：lick/smack one’s lips 1.（在吃好東西前）舔嘴唇 2.迫不及待，渴望

例句：They were licking their lips at the thought of clinching the deal.

他們一想到馬上要做成這筆交易就顯得急不可待了。

4.原文：General Mills’ has shot up by 23%.

詞典：shoot up 1.躥個兒，迅速長高 2.陡增，猛漲

例句：Ticket prices shot up last year.

去年票價猛漲。

Their kids have shot up since I last saw them.

自我上次見了以后，他們家幾個孩子一下子長高了。

5.原文：Then in 2022 people began dining out again

詞典：dine out 下館子，外出就餐

例句：She does not enjoy parties or dining out.

她不喜歡參加派對，也不喜歡出去吃飯。

6.原文：the industry is managing to ride out the latest tumult

詞典：ride out sth 安然渡過，挺過（風暴或者危機）

例句：The ruling party think they can ride out the political storm.

執政黨認為他們可以安然度過這場政治風暴。

7.原文：nearly three in four consumers anyway do not carefully distinguish frozen vegetables from the fresh sort

詞典：distinguish (between) A and B | distinguishA from B區分；辨別；分清

例句：It was hard to distinguish one twin from the other.

很難分辨出一對孿生兒誰是誰。

Sometimes reality and fantasy are hard to distinguish.

有時候現實和幻想很難區分。

8.原文：treating them as the same category

詞典：treat sth as sth把…看作；把…視為

例句：I decided to treat his remark as a joke.

我決定把他的話當作戲言。

9.原文：20- and 30-somethings in particular seem readier to spend larger shares of their income on food and are less likely to trade down than their elders.

詞典：trade down 降低消費

例句：They are selling their five-bedroom house and trading down to a two-bedroom cottage.

他們要把 5 居室的房子賣掉，換一所較便宜的 2 居室小屋。

10.原文：which they are adapting to changing consumer tastes

詞典：adapt (oneself) (to sth) 適應（新情況）

例句：We have had to adapt quickly to the new system.

我們不得不迅速適應新制度。

A large organization can be slow to adapt to change.

大機構可能應變遲緩。

11.原文：Conagra has introduced (Italian readers avert your eyes) “crustless pizzas”to appeal to the carb-phobic

詞典：appeal to sb 有吸引力，有感染力，引起興趣

例句：The design has to appeal to all ages and social groups.

設計得要雅俗共賞，老幼皆宜。

12.原文：And although they managed to maintain or even expand their margins by raising prices in line with their costs or faster

詞典：in line with sth與…相似（或緊密相連）

例句：Annual pay increases will be in line with inflation.

每年加薪幅度將與通貨膨脹掛鉤。

13.原文：If wage growth slows or unemployment ticks up

詞典：tick up 增長

例句：Inflation is persistent and economists expect it to tick up more this year.

通貨膨脹居高不下，經濟學家預計今年還會進一步加劇。

14.原文：at some point people will probably cut back even on smaller luxuries

詞典：cut back on sth 縮減，減少

例句：If we don't sell more we'll have to cut back on production.

我們若不能多銷，就必須減產。

②長難句

1.原文：And though inflation is leading shoppers to trade downfrom branded products to retailers’ cheaper private-label offeringswhen buying things like cosmetics or home goods, theyarestill happyto pay a bit extra for premium grub.

2.分析：主句是簡單的主系表結構+狀語theyarehappyto pay a bit extra for premium grub，其中不定式介詞短語to do sth為原因狀語。though引導讓步狀語從句，在該從句中，主句是inflation is leading shoppers to trade down，后面的from...to...作狀語。when buying things like cosmetics or home goods是時間狀語。

3.譯文：并且盡管通貨膨脹正讓購物者在購買化妝品或家居品時降級消費，選擇從名牌產品到零售商售賣的更為廉價的私有商標商品，購物者仍然樂意多花費一些錢去購買高檔食品。

1.原文：The biggest question-markhangs oversales volumes, which could be crimped by those higher prices and a looming economic slowdownthat may prompt shoppers to start pinching pennies.

2.分析：首句是主謂賓結構The biggest question-mark（主語）hangs over（謂語動詞）sales volumes（賓語）。which引導非限制性定語從句，修飾先行詞sales volumes，表示“銷量會被高價以及潛在的經濟放緩削減”。that引導定語從句，修飾a looming economic slowdown，表示這一潛在的經濟放緩“或許會促使購物者開始節約”，此處涉及表達prompt sb to do sth“促使某人做某事”。

3.譯文：最大的問題出在銷量上，而更高的售價以及潛在的經濟下滑或許會使購物者開始縮衣節食，進而降低銷量。

③寫作技巧:

The biggestquestion-mark hangs oversales volumes

最大的不確定性在于銷量

表達：當寫作中想表達“對……不確定”時，可以用上述句型“The question mark hangs over sth”，或者是“There is a question mark over sth”代替“The question/problem is that ...”。

例句：There are bound to be question marks over his future...

他的未來必然還存有很多不確定的因素。

④背景知識：

康尼格拉公司（Conagra）：康尼格拉食品公司（ConAgra Foods, Inc.）的主要業務是生產和銷售加工及袋裝食品。康尼格拉食品公司是一家包裝食品公司，客戶包括百貨零售店、餐廳、食品服務公司以及食品加工商，而公司旗下的大眾消費品牌則包括Banquet、男廚牌、Egg Beaters, 健康之選, 希伯來熱狗、亨氏, Marie Callender's、奧利華?雷登巴赫以及PAM。康尼格拉食品公司成立于1861年，總部位于內布拉斯加州奧馬哈市。康尼格拉公司是美國最大的食品制造商，第二大的食品零售商。美國人的餐桌上幾乎少不了康尼格拉公司的產品，不管是在家（蔬菜產品）還是在外面（飯店、賓館、學校和其他機構）。

⑤段落大意：

【1】營養學家建議民眾應該多選購新鮮果蔬、新鮮肉類和奶制品

【2】目前各大食品公司賺取巨額收益

【3】包裝食品公司在過去十年可謂是坐過山車

【4】食品行業正在渡過最新一輪的混亂

【5】食品巨頭能夠從多元化產品中獲益

【6】銷量是紅利期能否持續下去的關鍵

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