英语听力精选进阶版 13791

A laundry for Somalia

Summary

11 June 2012

The Somali capital, Mogadishu, is often described as the most dangerous city on earth. But after more than two decades of violence, things are starting to change. The city has now seen the opening of something that has been lacking for years - a laundry.

Reporter:

Mary Harper

Report

When Mohamed Mahamoud Sheik returned to his hometown of Mogadishu after years of living abroad he noticed a problem. His father, his uncles, politicians, businessmen and others had to go to extreme ends to clean their suits. They had to take them abroad, to neighbouring Kenya.

Mohamed - who is 24 years old - quickly spotted¹ an opportunity. He decided² to open a laundry, which would not only dry clean people's clothes, but pick them up and deliver them too. He bought the equipment from Dubai, the US and Italy, and spent time at a friend's dry cleaning business in the Gulf³ to pick up skills. He says it was a struggle to find premises⁴ because so many people are rushing to start up businesses in Mogadishu that there's hot competition for space. 

Finding staff was a challenge, but Mohamed eventually found one man who worked in a Mogadishu dry cleaners more than 20 years ago. The local authorities have provided security – the city is still affected⁵ by suicide bombs and other attacks. 

Mohamed is not the only Somali to come home after years as a refugee. People young and old are returning to the safer parts of the country. But much of Somalia remains⁶ dangerous. It’s by no means clear that the relative peace in Mogadishu will last, but ventures like Mohamed's offer some kind of hope after years of difficulty.

1 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。