VOA慢速英语 联合国称叙利亚难民已逾四百万

AS IT IS 2015-07-20 UN Says Four Million Refugees² Have Left Syria 联合国称叙利亚难民已逾四百万

The United Nations reported this month that the number of refugees fleeing conflict in Syria has reached four million. The UN’s High Commissioner³ for Refugees says that makes Syria the world’s biggest refugee¹ crisis⁴ in a generation. Without a settlement to the conflict, it warns, the number of refugees is expected to rise to four-point-25 million by the end of the year.

The UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees reported that more than 24,000 Syrians fled to Turkey last month. Already Turkey is home to the largest number of refugees of any country in the world. Nearly half of all the four million Syrians who fled their country now live in Turkey. Most of the rest live in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq or Egypt.

UN spokesman⁵ Adrian Edwards told VOA that conditions for the Syrian refugees in Turkey and the other countries are getting worse. He says that rising numbers of refugees are falling into poverty. He says more of them are really worried about the future.

“We are seeing a growing trend in what we call negative coping - that is, child labor⁶, begging, child marriages and worse. If you look at the various countries these populations are in, 86 percent of the refugees in Jordan living outside camps are below the poverty line; 55 percent in Lebanon are living in sub-standard shelter. There is a huge and growing funding crunch⁷.”

Adrian Edwards says the world will need about $5.5 billion in international humanitarian⁸ and development aid this year. But only one fourth of that amount has been received. He says the lack of money is putting pressure on the refugees, and the communities where they live. Mr. Edwards says aid groups will have to make cuts in refugee programs because the money to support them is not available. He warns that could mean serious and long-lasting problems for the refugees. 

“Programs, which are incredibly important in the long run, such as education of children, such as health, such as other things—these go by the way and these have long-term consequences. When you have millions of children unable to go to school, unable to get the proper help they need… the risk is you run into a lost generation of people.”

Mr. Edwards says many refugees see no possibility of returning to Syria anytime soon. One result is that many refugees are moving toward Europe and even farther away from their homes. He says desperation is making many of the people risk their lives as they cross the Mediterranean⁹ Sea. There, they hope to find work and a new life.

Words in This Story

generation – n. a group of people born and living at about the same time; usually 20-30 years

crunch – n. a very difficult point or situation

consequence(s) – n. something that happens as a result of an action or set of conditions

desperation – n. a strong feeling of fear, sadness and/or the  loss of hope

1 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

2 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

3 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

4 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

5 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

8 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。

9 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。