PBS高端访谈:南苏丹正经历最严重的饥荒

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: But first: South Sudan, the world's youngest country, founded in 2011, is in freefall. Three of its six years in existence have been spent fighting a civil war that has left tens of thousands dead.

　　Now the ravages¹ of that war have led to a manmade famine. Last week, the United Nations reported that 7.5 million people there are in need of assistance.

　　From South Sudan, John Ray of Independent Television News brings us this report.

　　And a warning: Viewers may find some of the images upsetting.

　　JOHN RAY: Of South Sudan's many torments², hunger has become the greatest terror of all. It is a horror written in the flesh and bones of this little boy. It has drawn³ the strength from his limbs and the life from his eyes. His name is Khamis, 2 years old, but weaker than a newborn baby.

　　His mother has lost one child to sickness, lost family to war, and now starvation threatens her son.

　　LOMO LATABO, Mother (through interpreter): There is no food. Anything we can find, we will try to eat. We find grass, we will eat it. That's just the way it is for us now.

　　南苏丹正经历最严重的饥荒

　　JOHN RAY: The red warning signs are everywhere. At this screening center out in the countryside, we're told four out of every 10 children are severely⁴ acutely malnourished. In language any parent would understand, they risk starving to death.

　　So, with every exhausted⁵ step, South Sudan moves from the brink⁶ of genocide into the arms of famine. For many days and many miles, they have trekked⁷ across a sand-blown wasteland in search of something to eat and somewhere safe to stay.

　　Exhausted, famished⁸, almost finished, and all they have gained is the shade of a tree. Everyone is hungry, the old woman tells me, but better here than at home.

　　WOMAN (through interpreter): The soldiers came, and so many people were killed, even the women and old people. My children were shot in front of me. The houses were burnt, so we ran to the bush.

　　JOHN RAY: There is food, but nothing like enough. In the district center of Ganyiel, a U.N. plane has just delivered its once-a-month aid drop. And in the baking heat, they collect their rations⁹, but thousands have arrived too late.

　　We found this woman picking through the dirt for a few grains split from the sacks of cereal. In the long grass all around, there are many like her. This is all she has for the next month.

　　"It shames and pains me," she says, "but how else can I live?"

　　The answer, for many, is to risk the malaria-infested marshes¹⁰ that line the River Nile. We watched William Gaul and his family of eight children arrive after a 19-day journey from famine through fighting. All they have eaten on the way are water lilies.

　　WILLIAM GAUL, South Sudan (through interpreter): I have never seen so many people die of hunger. Only God can help us now. Without God, I am afraid none of us will survive.

　　JOHN RAY: This is Dalia, 6 years old, perilously¹¹ thin. Her fight for life is one tiny front line in a much wider struggle, 100,000 people on the verge¹² of starvation. Dalia is precisely¹³ the same age as her country, uncertain fates intertwined.

　　But, like so many children, Khamis knows only fear and hunger, first the war, then the famine, now the reckoning.

1 ravages   

劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹

参考例句：

• the ravages of war 战争造成的灾难
• It is hard for anyone to escape from the ravages of time. 任何人都很难逃避时间的摧残。

2 torments   

（肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人]

参考例句：

• He released me from my torments. 他解除了我的痛苦。
• He suffered torments from his aching teeth. 他牙痛得难受。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

5 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

6 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

7 trekked   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• They trekked for three days along the banks of the Zambezi. 他们沿着赞比西河河岸跋涉了三天。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Six-man teams trekked through the woods, respectively for 72 to 96 hours. 6人一组的小分队，经过长途跋涉，穿过了森林，分别用72小时到96小时不等。 来自互联网

8 famished   

adj.饥饿的

参考例句：

• When's lunch?I'm famished!什么时候吃午饭？我饿得要死了！
• My feet are now killing me and I'm absolutely famished.我的脚现在筋疲力尽，我绝对是极饿了。

9 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

10 marshes   

n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
• We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 perilously   

adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地

参考例句：

• They were perilously close to the edge of the precipice. 他们离悬崖边很近，十分危险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It'seemed to me that we had come perilously close to failure already. 对我来说，好像失败和我只有一步之遥，岌岌可危。 来自互联网

12 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

13 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。