FOR MANY characters in fiction, grocery bills(食品杂货账单) play a starring role(扮演主角/起重要作用) in their story. Jean Valjean(《悲惨世界》主人公冉阿让) is imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread; Mrs Lovett strikes an unholy alliance(邪恶联盟/不正当勾结) with Sweeney Todd for access to a source of free meat for her pie business. According to a recent survey of Americans, such drama has come for them too: almost two-thirds cite(引用/提及) paying for groceries as a major source of financial stress, twice the share that mention housing or fuel.
对于小说中的许多角色来说，食品杂货账单在他们的故事中扮演着重要角色。冉阿让因偷一条面包而入狱；洛维特夫人与斯威尼·陶德结成邪恶联盟，以便为她的馅饼生意获取免费肉源。根据最近一项针对美国人的调查，这种戏剧性也降临到了他们身上：近三分之二的人将购买食品杂货列为经济压力的主要来源，是提及住房或燃料的两倍。
At first glance the panic is understandable. American grocery prices are up by around a quarter since 2020, exceeding nominal wage growth(名义工资增长) (see chart). Shoppers might even feel some sympathy for Mrs Lovett: ground beef(碎牛肉/牛肉馅) is nearly twice as expensive as it was in 2019, thanks in part to(部分原因是) drought-related cattle shortages.
乍一看，这种恐慌是可以理解的。自2020年以来，美国食品杂货价格上涨了约四分之一，超过了名义工资增长（见图表）。购物者甚至可能对洛维特夫人产生一些同情：碎牛肉的价格几乎是2019年的两倍，部分原因是干旱导致的牛只短缺。
Other countries have also been afflicted(受折磨/受影响). Since 2020 food prices in Australia, Britain, Canada and France have risen by between a fifth and a third. Discontent is inviting all kinds of intervention. Zohran Mamdani(纽约市市长佐兰·马姆达尼), the mayor of New York City, cruised to victory(轻松获胜) with a plan to bring down the cost of living that included opening a series of government-run supermarkets. In Canada the push for state grocery stores went mainstream(成为主流) when Avi Lewis(阿维·刘易斯), a champion of the concept, was elected leader of the country’s leftist New Democratic Party in March.
其他国家也受到了影响。自2020年以来，澳大利亚、英国、加拿大和法国的食品价格上涨了五分之一到三分之一。不满情绪引发了各种干预。纽约市市长佐兰·马姆达尼以一项降低生活成本的计划轻松获胜，该计划包括开设一系列政府运营的超市。在加拿大，当这一概念的倡导者阿维·刘易斯于3月当选该国左翼新民主党领袖时，推动国有食品杂货店成为主流。