[General] "As Gas Prices Soar, Elderly Face Cuts in Aid"

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Recently I read the NYT’s article “As Gas Prices Soar, Elderly Face Cuts in Aid”. There were arising questions in my mind regarding the proper interpretation of the verb “face”. I know a few different meanings of the verb in question for example face (v) = “to bring or to be brought face to face with”: “The prospect of military conflict . . . faced us with nightmarish choices”or face (v) = “to overcome by confronting boldly or bravely”: “What this generation must do is face its problems”.

Would you be kind enough help me make the adequate choice?

In my humble opinion there is no denying the fact that you will run into difficulties by interpretation without the context in the following excerpt:

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — Early last month, Jeanne Fair, 62, got her first hot meals delivered to her home in this lake town in the sparsely populated southwestern part of the state. Then after two deliveries the meals stopped because gas prices had made the delivery too expensive.

Faced with soaring gasoline prices, agencies around the country that provide services to the elderly say they are having to cut back on programs like Meals on Wheels, transportation assistance and home care, especially in rural areas that depend on volunteers who provide their own gas.

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards

V.

[Soup]

To be certain to encounter; have in store.

[susiedqq]

Faced with soaring gasoline prices, (Having to deal with or experiencing soaring gasoline prices) agencies around the country that provide services to the elderly . . .

P.S. Most of these food delivery programs are run by volunteer delivery persons. This is a Federal government program and believe me, those meals MUST be delivered. Most likely, there is a drop in the number of volunteers. Volunteer shortage is an on-going problem with Meals on Wheels programs.