Recession Results in Cuts -- Haircuts
　
        Hundreds of poor Argentines have turned to selling their hair to a wig factory to survive a huge economic crisis, taking advantage of a plunging currency that priced imports out of the market.

        G.A. Peluca factory, in the north-western town of Rosario, opted for supplies of locally grown "natural" hair when it faced a shortage of Russian synthetic wigs after the peso plunged in value by nearly two thirds this year.

        The market rate for locally-grown human hair is around $11 per five ounces, a company official said. All hair must be 1 foot long to be fit for the wig.

        "We searched for natural hair in the local market to get a better and cheaper product than synthetic hair," the official said.

        Rosario, one of the poorest cities in this South American country of 36 million people, was a center of food looting in December that overthrew then-President Fernando de la Rua and heralded months of political and economic chaos.

        Nearly one in two Argentines live on a few dollars a day and one in five of the workforce is unemployed after a four- year recession in Latin America's third largest economy.
　

ANNOTATION:

opt for: 选择
peso: 阿根廷货币单位，比索
food looting: 哄抢食物
herald: vt. 宣布，预告
　


货币贬值政府削减进口商品 逼上梁山国人"削减"头发

        由于近来阿根廷遭遇严重的经济危机，货币贬值造成该国商品进口数量急剧下降，假发制造厂家也被切断了货源，于是数以百计的贫苦阿根廷人为了糊口，纷纷将自己的头发卖给假发制造厂。

        由于今年的经济危机造成阿根廷比索大幅度贬值，位于阿根廷西北部罗萨里奥市的G.A. Peluca假发制造厂无法继续进口俄罗斯的用于制造假发的合成纤维，因此现在这个工厂只得选择当地"自然生长"的头发作为原料。

        该公司的一位负责人说，目前阿根廷市场上自然生长的头发价格是每5盎司11美元左右。同时为了符合假发制作的要求，所收购的头发长度必须要达到1英尺。

        这位负责人说："由于合成纤维的假发制作成本较高，所以现在我们改为在当地收购头发，这样生产出来的假发不但质量会更好而且价格会更便宜。"

        罗萨里奥市有人口3600万，是阿根廷这个南美洲国家中最贫困的城市之一，也是去年12月份哄抢食物事件的中心地区。正是那次事件造成了当时阿根廷总统德拉鲁阿的下台，并且让该国连续几个月时间都处在政治和经济的混乱状态之中。

        阿根廷曾经是拉丁美洲的第三经济大国，但是自从该国4年前开始遭受经济衰退至今，已经是今非昔比。如今，有一半的阿根廷人每天仅靠几美元过活，有五分之一的劳动力处在失业状态。