干旱侵袭乌兹别克斯坦

 

 

Uzbek Drought Affects Thousands

Lisa Schlein

Geneva

22 Aug 2001 16:45 UTC

 

Red Cross workers who have just returned from Uzbekistan say thousands of people in the former Soviet¹ republic are 1)struggling to survive because of a 2)severe 3)drought that is now in its second year.

The Red Cross says the worst-affected² region is Karakalpakstan, which is near the Aral Sea. The huge sea once supplied fresh water to the entire region, but the sea is now dying because of years of 4)mismanagement dating back to Soviet days.

The aid agency says Karakalpakstan, which can no longer rely on water from the Aral Sea, has been severely³ affected by the two years of little rain. According to one 5)estimate, cereal production has dropped by 54 percent since last year.

The Red Cross officer for Central Asia, Susanna Soderstrom, calls the drop in food production a major 6)catastrophe. She says up to 25 percent of children under age five have chronic⁴ malnutrition⁵ and the 7)adults are also suffering. "All the adults have repeated diarrheal diseases from the water that they are obliged to drink," she says. "There is no safe water in this area. Most of the worst affected population does not have any 8)livestock available. So, they have no mechanism⁶ left to receive some cash, so at least they could buy food."

Uzbekistan has had water problems for many years, ever since authorities began 9)diverting water from its two main rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, to 10)irrigate the nation's cotton fields. Environmentalists believe this is a major reason for the severe 11)depletion of the 12)Aral Sea, because the rivers flow into the Aral.

Ms. Soderstrom says that now, much of the water that does flow into the Aral is runoff from the farms and polluted. "The water is very polluted by fertilizers, chemicals, high 13)salinity content, and this also is weakening the population by repeated water-related diseases," she says.

The Red Cross is appealing for $400,000 to provide 20,000 people in Uzbekistan with food parcels to help them get through the winter. The humanitarian⁷ agency says it also will fund a health and water sanitation⁸ program for 150,000 people.

 

 

(1)      struggle[5strQ^(E)l]n.竞争, 努力, 奋斗vi.努力, 奋斗, 挣扎vt.尽力使得

(2)      severe[sI5vIE(r)]adj.严厉的,剧烈的, 严重的, 严峻的

(3)      drought[draJt]n.干旱, 缺乏

(4)      mismanagement n.办错, 管理不善

(5)      estimate[5estImEt]n.v.估计, 估价, 评估

(6)      catastrophe[kE5tAstrEfI]n.大灾难, 大祸

(7)      adult[5AdQlt]n.成人, 成年人adj.成人的, 成熟的

(8)      livestock[`laIvstCk]n.家畜, 牲畜

(9)      divert[daI5v:t]v.转移, 转向, 使高兴

(10)      irrigate[5IrI^eIt]vt.灌溉, 修水利, 冲洗伤口 vi.进行灌溉

(11)      depletion[ dI`pli:FEn ]n.损耗

(12)      Aral[`ArEl]Sea 咸海

(13)      salinity[sE`lInEtI,seI-]n.盐分, 盐度

 

 

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 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。

3 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

4 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

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 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

7 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。

8 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。