2006年VOA标准英语-Cholera Reemerges in Angola

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
08 December 2006

The U.N. Children's Fund says it is rapidly expanding its activities to try to stem a resurgence¹ of cholera² in Angola. The deadly and easily transmittable disease has infected more than 62,000 Angolans since February, of whom more than 2,500 have died. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

The cholera epidemic³ in Angola had gone to sleep during the dry period. But it now has re-awakened with the coming of the rainy season. And this is giving aid agencies cause for alarm.

The U.N. Children's Fund, one of the few international aid agencies still working in Angola, is particularly concerned about the effect it will have on children. Spokesman Michael Bociurkiw says an estimated 35 percent of those affected⁴ by the epidemic are children under five.

"Kids are so vulnerable to cholera," he said. "When it hits it can cause death within a matter of hours in many cases, if it is not treated right away. And this [treatment] is basically through hydration. Diarrhea comes and then they get dehydrated very, very quickly. The loss of water is very, very dramatic when cholera hits a child."

Cholera is mainly a disease of the poor. It occurs in densely⁵ populated areas where people have little access to clean water. Cholera is preventable. People who do contract it have a good chance of surviving, if they are treated promptly⁶.

And that is why Bociurkiw says UNICEF is embarking⁷ on a huge countrywide campaign to educate people about the disease.

"We are going really down to the grassroots-door-to-door type of campaigns to make sure everyone knows how to prevent it," he said. "But, once it hits, [we want to tell people] how to recognize it and where to get treatment really quickly. Basically, our campaign is targeting well over seven million people. But we plan to bring our interventions⁸ - safe water and sanitation⁹, hygiene¹⁰ messages, the house to house campaigns - to schools and communities to reach 850,000 people who we believe are at immediate¹¹ risk."

But Bociurkiw says education alone is not enough. He says people also need water purification tablets and oral re-hydration salts. Most importantly, he says people need to be kept safe from contaminated water. He says one of UNICEF's major tasks will be to clean up Angola's water supply.

1 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

6 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

7 embarking   

乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• He's embarking on a new career as a writer. 他即将开始新的职业生涯——当一名作家。
• The campaign on which were embarking was backed up by such intricate and detailed maintenance arrangemets. 我们实施的战争，须要如此复杂及详细的维护准备。

8 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

11 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。