VOA新闻杂志2022--妇女和儿童是受巴基斯坦洪水影响最大的

Women, Children Affected¹ Most by Pakistan’s Floods

Severe flooding in Pakistan has left tens of thousands of people sick with infectious and water-borne diseases. Women and children in rural areas are especially vulnerable to such diseases, experts say.

Flood waters have begun to recede², or move away. But water may remain in places for two to six months. Stagnant³ water presents a serious risk to people living in the affected areas. Stagnant means water that is not flowing.

Diseases such as malaria⁴, dengue fever and skin problems are spreading quickly. That information comes from a new report by the government of Pakistan's southern Sindh province.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Shrif recently spoke⁵ at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Uzebekistan. He said, "Stagnant water is giving rise to the water-borne diseases. Children getting malaria and diarrhea ... all kinds of diseases...millions of people are living under open sky."

The floods have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. Those people are now in desperate need of food, shelter, clean drinking water, toilets and medicine.

The flooding has affected 33 million people, 16 million of which are children. Over 3 million of those children need immediate⁶ life-saving support, the United Nations refugee agency says.

Since July 1, temporary medical centers set up in the flooded region have treated 2.3 million people.

There have been 1,508 deaths so far, including 536 children and 308 women, according to Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority.

Abdullah Fadil is a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Pakistan. He said in a statement, "I have been in the flood-affected areas for the past two days. The situation for families is beyond bleak⁷, and the stories I heard paint a desperate picture."

Fadil confirmed that he had seen malnourished children and mothers with the diseases like diarrhea and malaria.

The flooding is considered a once-in-a-century event. It was likely made more severe by climate change, scientists said last week.

Extreme seasonal⁸ rains in the southern areas of Pakistan, combined with glacial melt caused by climate change in the northern areas, created the massive flooding.

Pakistan's monsoon⁹ season this year started earlier than usual and ended later than usual. The country received 391 millimeters of rain during the monsoon period. That is 190 percent more than the 30-year average.

Words in This Story

vulnerable – adj. able to be hurt or at risk of being harmed

malnourished – adj. not eating enough food or not eating enough healthy food; poorly nourished

toilet – n. a large bowl attached to a pipe that is used for getting rid of bodily waste and then flushed with water

diarrhea - an illness that causes you to pass waste from your body very frequently and in liquid rather than solid form

glacial – adj. related to glaciers¹⁰: frozen rivers of ice on mountains and in Arctic areas

bleak —adj. not hopeful or encouraging

monsoon– n. the rainy season in South and Southeast Asia

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 recede   

vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进

参考例句：

• The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
• He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

3 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

4 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

8 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

9 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

10 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）