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在各类美剧和电影中，香烟基本是监狱的通用货币。不过，最近的一项调查发现，因为监狱伙食下降，犯人们开始用方便面来与人进行秘密交易。 正文 Ramen is displacing tobacco as most popular US prison currency, study finds 研究发现，方便面正取代烟草变身监狱中最受欢迎的“货币” Ramen noodles are overtaking tobacco as the most popular currency in US prisons, according a new study released on Monday. 周一的一项最新研究显示，泡面正取代烟草成为美国监狱中最受欢迎的“货币”。 A new report by Michael Gibson-Light, a doctoral candidate in the University of Arizona’s school of sociology, found the decline in quality and quantity of food available in prisons due to cost-cutting has made ramen noodles a valuable commodity. 来自亚利桑那大学社会学学院博士迈克尔·吉布森-莱特（Michael Gibson-Light）的最新报告表明，监狱削减伙食成本，导致犯人们的伙食分量、质量下降，泡面也就跻身值钱的商品。 “[Ramen] is easy to get and it’s high in calories,” Gibson-Light said. “A lot of them, they spend their days working and exercising and they don’t have enough energy to do these things. From there it became more a story, why ramen in particular.” “（泡面）易获得，热量高。”吉布森-莱特博士解释。“许多犯人每天要进行大量劳动和体育锻炼，却又没法摄取足够能量。这就是泡面‘走红’的主要原因。” Gibson-Light interviewed close to 60 inmates over the course of a year at one state prison as part of a wider study on prison labor. He did not identify the prison to protect the confidentiality of the inmates. 在一项对监狱劳工的广泛研究中，吉布森-莱特用一年时间采访了一所州立监狱的近60名犯人。为了保护犯人的隐私，他未透露该监狱的相关信息。 He found that the instant soup has surpassed tobacco as the most prized currency at the prison. He also analyzed other nationwide investigations that he says found a trend towards using ramen noodles in exchanges. “One way or another, everything in prison is about money,” one soft-spoken prisoner named Rogers said in the report. “Soup is money in here. It’s sad but true.” 他发现，速食汤（即泡面）已超越烟草成为狱中最有价值的“货币”。他同时分析了对全国其它监狱的相关研究，发现犯人们也倾向用泡面进行物品交换。“不管怎样，监狱里的一切事物都与钱挂钩，”一位名叫罗杰斯（Rogers）的犯人温和地说。“汤在这儿就是钱。很可悲，但这就是现实。” Ramen noodles have long been known to be a popular dish in prisons. Gustavo “Goose” Alvarez, who spent more than a decade incarcerated on a weapons charge, wrote a book on its popularity, Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories From Behind Bars. 长期以来，泡面都是监狱里的一道佳肴。犯人古斯塔沃·古斯·阿尔瓦雷茨（Gustavo 'Goose' Alvarez）因贩卖军火在狱中服刑十多年，他为超高人气的泡面写书《监狱拉面：牢笼中的食谱和故事》(Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories From Behind Bars） He was inspired to write the book after a race riot in 2009 led to a standoff between a group of Hispanic and African American inmates. An older inmate quelled the dispute and the two groups resolved the tensions by cooking a feast together, largely with ramen noodles. 他的灵感源自2009年时，部分拉美裔与非裔犯人间暴发了一场种族冲突，两派阵营僵持不下，后经一名老犯人调解，两派人聚在一起享用了一顿“盛宴”（主要食材为泡面），冲突才得以化解。 The book, released last year, includes several recipes such as Ramen Tamale, using Doritos, canned pork and beans, and ramen. It recommends mixing strawberry jelly with soy sauce to make teriyaki, to go with Cheesy Meat Tacos. The book also includes the favorite ramen recipes of celebrities such as Shia LeBeouf and Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash. 该书于去年出版，其中记录了几道狱中食谱，比如“墨西哥拉面卷”，原料为多力多滋玉米片（Doritos）、猪肉罐头、大豆以及泡面。还建议在享用奶酪墨西哥肉卷时，搭配草莓酱与酱油混合而成的照烧汁。该书还囊括了一些备受名人青睐的泡面食谱，当中有希安·拉博夫（Shia LeBeouf），还有枪炮与玫瑰乐队的吉他手Slash。 The study paints a bleak picture of the state of food available at the prison. Gibson-Light found that black-market food became more valuable after control over food preparation switched from one private firm to another in the early 2000s. 吉布森-莱特的研究揭露了监狱伙食匮乏的惨淡现状。他发现自21世纪初一家私企接手先前的一家对食物配制环节进行管控开始，监狱黑市中的食物就更贵了。 “That change was part of a cost-cutting measure,” Gibson-Light said. “With that change that resulted in a reduction in the quantity of the food the inmates were receiving.' “这一变化的部分原因在于伙食成本的削减，”吉布森-莱特说。“因此导致了监狱伙食分量的减少。” Inmates at the prison Gibson-Light studied went from receiving three hot meals a day to two hot meals and one cold lunch during the week, and only two meals for the whole day on the weekend. 在吉布森-莱特所调查的监狱中，原先犯人一日有三顿热餐，而今变成工作日每天两顿热餐加一顿冷午餐，周末全天只能吃两顿饭。 The phenomenon is described by Gibson-Light as “punitive frugality”. Spending on corrections has not kept pace with the number of inmates in prisons since 1982, the report found. 该情况被吉布森-莱特称为“惩罚式节约”。报告显示，自1982年起，监狱劳教体系的经费开支已无法跟上犯人数量飙升的步伐。 Prisoners said that they did not have enough calories to see them through the day, so ramen provides an additional hit. 采访中犯人表示，由于每天无法摄入足够的热量，缺少的可以从泡面中获得。 “I save all my meals to eat at once so I can actually get full,” a prisoner named “DS” said. 一位化名DS的犯人说，“我得把几顿饭省到一起吃，这样才能吃饱。” The little food that is available is usually of extremely poor quality. Correctional officers warned Gibson-Light not to eat it, as it might result in food poisoning. One corrections officer recalled that he once examined the food in the kitchen and found a box that contained “nasty looking full chickens” that was boldly marked several times with the words “not for human consumption”. 伙食少，质量还很糟糕。狱警提醒吉布森-莱特博士不要吃监狱的饭，当心食物中毒。一名狱警回忆有次在厨房检查食物时发现一盒令人作呕的鸡，包装上直接标注着“不宜人类食用”的字样。 The lack of food and the poor quality have contributed to ramen’s popularity. Gibson-Light found that even at prisons where tobacco has been banned or other items were more popular to trade– such as stamps and envelopes – there has been a shift towards food. 伙食太差，犯人们食不果腹，这都为泡面积攒了超高人气。吉布森-莱特发现即使是在禁止烟草交易的监狱或将邮票、信封这类作为“硬通货”的监狱——都向以食物为导向的“市场”转变。 At the prison from the study, ramen cost 59 cents at the commissary but would be exchanged for items worth more in value. For instance, a sweatshirt – worth $10.81 – can be bought for two packs of ramen. Five tailor-made cigarettes – worth $2.00 – can be bought for one pack of ramen. Acquiring fresh vegetables to cook with was extremely highly regarded, Gibson-Light said. Inmates would use ramen to buy onions or zucchinis stolen from the kitchen. Others cleaned inmates’ bunks for one pack of ramen – referred to as soup – a week, or did laundry or gambled with it. 在莱特所调查的监狱中，泡面的零售价格为59美分，但在监狱“黑市”的交易中，泡面往往可以换到价值更高的物品。例如，2包泡面就能换1件价值10.81美元的运动衫，1包泡面就可以换5支价值2美元的手工卷烟。莱特还说犯人们也很喜欢煮面时搭配新鲜蔬菜，他们会用泡面换取从厨房偷来的洋葱或南瓜。另有一些通过帮狱友打扫牢房一周换得一碗汤（即一包面），还有帮洗衣服，甚至赌博来换取泡面的。 It can get dangerous when ramen is purchased at illegal inmate stores, as customers often purchase items on credit. Failure to pay back debts can result in fights or worse. 不过在非法的监狱市场买卖泡面已成一大危险，因为“顾客”常常赊账。欠债不还的结果就是被殴，甚至更惨。 “I’ve seen fights over ramen,” one inmate said. “People get killed over soup.” “我见过有人为方便面而打起来。”一位囚犯说。“一碗汤能引发一场血案。” Gibson-Light explained that forms of currencies only change in extreme circumstances. 不过吉布森-莱特博士说，除非出现极特殊的情况，否则泡面充当货币的现状并不会轻易改变。 “[Money] doesn’t change unless there’s some drastic change to the value in people using it,” he said. The shift from tobacco to ramen highlights how dire the nutritional standards at prisons has become, he added. “只要泡面的使用价值没有巨大变化，那么它（作为货币）就会继续在监狱流行。”他补充道，“从监狱‘货币’由烟草变成泡面这一现象就可看出，监狱伙食的营养标准变得有多差。” 外媒简介 《卫报》是英国的全国性综合内容日报, 是一张自由民主派的报纸，代表左翼，读者多是知识界和年轻人。在欧洲知识界，《卫报》的影响力超过了任何一张报纸。 报纸严肃和独立精神的定位也从创刊者泰勒开始。泰勒确立了《卫报》成功传承的三大传统：精确完整的报道标准；关注及服务社团的商业利益；绝对独立自主的立场，不受党派政治领导人左右。 学习笔记 1. confidntiality n. 保密；机密，机密性 As part of the information assurance policy, confidentiality, integrity and availability must be in place. 作为信息保证政策的一部分，必须具有机密性、完整性，及可用性。 2. soft-spoken adj. 说话温和的，善于言辞的 Passion, commitment and conviction are critical for delivery, and you can do that whether you're soft-spoken or not. 激情、承诺和信念是表达的关键，不管你用不用温柔的说话方式。 He was a gentle, soft-spoken, intelligent man. 他是个和蔼、说话温和、睿智的人。 3. quell v. 镇压；平息；减轻；消除 Troops eventually quelled the unrest. 部队最终镇压了动乱。 The government is trying to quell fears of a looming oil crisis. 该政府正努力消除日益临近的石油危机而带来的恐惧。 4. dire adj. 严重的，可怕的；质量低劣的 The government looked as if it would split apart, with dire consequences for domestic peace. 政府看似就要分崩离析，给国内和平带来可怕的后果。 Sugar, while not the dire poison some of its critics make it out to be, has no nutritional upside either. 糖，虽然不如它的反对者说的像毒药那么可怕，但它的确没有什么营养价值可言。 5. one way or another adv. 无论如何，不管怎样 They have no bearing, one way or another, on U. S. monetary policy. 无论如何都不会对美国的货币政策产生任何影响。 One way or another taxpayers will have to provide more support to still-wobbly banks, in order for them to support credit-crunched businesses. 无论如何，纳税人必须为风雨飘摇的银行提供更多的支持，以使它们来支撑信贷紧缩的商业。 翻译：黄紫晶 校对：尹子梦 策划：朱宇晴 取经号：JTWest
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