VOA慢速英语2012 Agriculture Report - Aid Workers Seek to Build 'Resilience' in Sahel

 

Agriculture Report - Aid Workers Seek to Build 'Resilience' in Sahel

农业报道 - 援助组织试图培养萨赫勒地区人们的“韧劲”

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

In Africa, severe food shortages have affected¹ eighteen million people in nine Sahel countries this year. This was the third severe food crisis in four years in the area bordering the Sahara. How can the Sahel break its cycle of food insecurity? Aid workers are asking that question as this year's emergency eases. David Gressly is the United Nations regional humanitarian² coordinator³ for the Sahel.

非洲今年严重的粮食短缺已经影响到9个萨赫勒地区国家的1800万人。这是这个撒哈拉大沙漠邻近地区近4年来第三次严重的粮食危机。萨赫勒地区如何打破粮食不安全的恶性循环呢？当今年的危机缓解时，援助人员就一直在思考这个问题。大卫·格雷斯利（David Gressly）是联合国驻萨赫勒地区人道主义协调员。

"If we don't seize the opportunity in two thousand thirteen, there's a good chance that this whole issue will be forgotten until the next drought, and then we'll be asking ourselves the same set of questions."

“如果我们在2013年不抓住机会，很有可能到下次旱灾前，这整个问题都会被人遗忘。到时我们又会问自己同样的问题。”

Mr. Gressly says during a crisis, families eat just one or two meals a day, take their children out of school, sell their animals and go into debt. These actions put them at greater risk in a future crisis. In fact, many of the families affected by this year's food crisis had yet to recover from the earlier ones.

格雷斯利先生表示，在危机期间，各家各户每天只吃一两顿饭，把孩子从学校领回来，将家畜卖掉，并陷入债务中。这些举动使他们在未来的危机中面临更大的风险。实际上，许多受今年粮食危机影响的家庭尚未从前一次危机中恢复过来。

Aid agencies sent food and emergency assistance. They supplied farmers with drought-resistant seeds, improved fertilizers and medicine for livestock⁴. Aid groups also worked to improve irrigation systems and grain storage. These measures dealt with short-term needs, but David Gressly says the work should not stop when the crisis eases. 

援助机构送来了食物和紧急援助。他们为农民提供抗旱种子、改良化肥和畜药。援助机构还致力于改善灌溉系统和粮食储藏。这些措施解决了短期需求，但格雷斯利表示，危机缓解时这一工作不应该停止。

"And I think now there's an understanding [of the need for] a very targeted program looking at these eighteen million people affected this year, working with them to find ways so that they don't have to make the kinds of decisions to survive in a crisis of a drought, for example, that compromises their long-term future."

“我认为目前有这样一个共识，就是需要一个着眼于今年受影响的1800万人的针对性项目，与他们一道寻找解决办法。这样他们就不用为了在干旱危机中生存下来而作出影响他们长远未来的这类决定。”

Aid groups say they are working to build the "resilience" of communities, to make them stronger during a crisis. David Gressly says this means taking steps like reducing child malnutrition⁵ and changing cultural practices that may be harmful.

援助组织表示，他们正努力培养公众的“韧劲”，使得他们在危机中更加强大。格雷斯利表示，这意味着需要采取像减少营养不良和改变不良文化习俗等措施。

For example, he says there is a practice in many communities across the Sahel to give water to babies under six months of age because of the heat. But the water is often dirty and makes the children sick. This starts a cycle toward severe malnutrition. It can be prevented by feeding babies only breast milk.

例如，他说萨赫勒地区很多国家因为酷热有给6个月以下孩子喝水的习俗。但这些水往往很脏，使得孩子生病。这就开启了严重营养不良的恶性循环。而这可以通过只给婴儿喂食母乳来预防。

This year's food crisis followed unpredictable and insufficient⁶ rains. High food prices only made the situation worse. David Gressly says aid agencies in Chad have been building dams to store water during the rainy season. This water can later be used to irrigate⁷ fields.

今年的粮食危机紧随着不可预测的少雨。高粮价使得情况更糟。格雷斯利表示，乍得的援助机构一直在修建大坝以便雨季期间储水。这些水随后可以用于灌溉土地。

Al Hassan Cisse from the British aid group Oxfam says building the resilience of poor people also means investing in food reserves and social protections like health care. Aid groups say prevention costs less than treatment.

来自英国援助机构乐施会的埃尔·哈桑·西塞(Al Hassan Cisse)表示，培养穷人的韧劲还意味着投资于粮食储备，以及医疗等社会保障。援助机构表示，预防成本要低于治疗成本。

1 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。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

4 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

5 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

6 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

7 irrigate   

vt.灌溉，修水利，冲洗伤口，使潮湿

参考例句：

• The farmer dug several trenches to irrigate the rice fields.这个农民挖了好几条沟以灌溉稻田。
• They have built canals to irrigate the desert.他们建造成水渠以灌溉沙漠。