VOA慢速英语 2008 1215a

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

American officials say Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will join talks on Zimbabwe this week at the United Nations. The State Department says the Security Council has failed to take meaningful action to end the country's political and health crisis. Zimbabwe faces a cholera¹ outbreak that also threatens its neighbors. Many Zimbabweans have crossed the border into South Africa for treatment.

Secretary Rice is expected to try to increase pressure on President Robert Mugabe. Her spokesman Sean McCormack said last week that the United States wants to start a process that will bring an end to the tragedy in Zimbabwe. And he said southern African countries, especially, need to do more.
　

Children collecting dirty water in Harare. Cholera is spread through infected water and food.

The United Nations estimated that as of last week almost seventeen thousand people were infected with cholera. Aid groups reported almost eight hundred deaths.

The outbreak grew from a lack of water-treatment chemicals and from broken sewage pipes. Many people are using unprotected wells for drinking water.

Cholera is a bacterial² infection generally spread through water or food. It causes vomiting³ and diarrhea. In severe cases, people can die from a loss of fluids within hours unless they are treated.

Cholera is easily treated with oral rehydration salts or intravenous fluids. But Zimbabwe's health system has collapsed⁴.

The outbreak began in August. On December fourth the government declared a national emergency and appealed for international aid.

But President Mugabe has dismissed international calls to resign. He says the West wants to use the crisis as an excuse to invade Zimbabwe. He said last week that the epidemic⁵ is under control. But on Friday U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon disagreed, based on reports from the World Health Organization and other agencies.

The U.N. chief urged President Mugabe to honor a power-sharing deal with the opposition⁶ -- and to "look to the future of his country." He said the people of Zimbabwe have suffered too much and too long.

The United Nations has been supplying clean water to treatment centers in Harare. And the International Red Cross has been preparing to provide more water and other supplies. Aid groups have warned that as many as sixty thousand people could become infected unless the outbreak is controlled.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.

1 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

2 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

3 vomiting   

吐

参考例句：

• Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. 症状有腹泻和呕吐。
• Especially when I feel seasick, I can't stand watching someone else vomiting." 尤其晕船的时候，看不得人家呕。”

4 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

5 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。