2006年VOA标准英语-African Youth Struggle to Survive West Afr

By Nico Colombant
Abidjan
23 May 2006

Hawker with little skyscrapers¹ in background in Abidjan  
  
A new term being used to describe economic realities in West Africa is de-development. Life in cities built on dried up post-colonial aid is becoming increasingly difficult amid growing insecurity, power outages, and soaring unemployment. 

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These young men, mostly in their twenties, are hustling² for a few CFA Francs, parking cars, in Abidjan's financial district.

There were just a few of them a few years ago, but now a dozen run around every car. They point to a spot and hope that when the driver leaves, he or she will give them a tip.

Jacques Guigui says he was a student when his father died so he started parking cars to help take care of his brothers and sisters. He now has two children of his own.

He says it is better than stealing. He says he has no other options if he is to find money to feed his family.

The young men are now running away, as they have just spotted³ a special unit of the police, that they fear the most, known as CECOS.

There were efforts to institutionalize the work of freelance parking attendants, but like many other projects in Ivory Coast to legitimize the black market, it failed.

Guigui says he was once falsely accused of stealing money from a car and had to spend a month in jail. He says it is all very discouraging, when all he wants to do is work.

In another part of Abidjan, young men, in their teens, who all say they are apprentice⁴ mechanics, have set up a roadblock during rush hour, in front of a massive pothole⁵. A few lined-up wheelbarrows filled with dirt prevent motorists from going through.

The young men say they are fixing the road, but all they do is try to stop cars and get a tip.

One of them says they often get insulted, especially by taxi drivers, but it is part of the territory. He says it is the only way he has found to feed himself.

 
Mechanics set up a roadblock in Abidjan
  
In other parts of West Africa, these same tactics are used, but with even less policing than in Abidjan, some of the "pretend road fixers" use pieces of wood with protruding⁶ nails as their roadblocks. They refuse to pull these out from underneath⁷ a car's tires unless they are given money.

In Abidjan, vendors⁸ in traffic jams and at red lights are also proliferating⁹ at never before seen levels.

As the World Cup is approaching, anything with the colors of the Ivory Coast national team or in the shape of the team's mascot¹⁰, the elephant, is being sold.

There is also the usual array of pirated DVDs, umbrellas, sunglasses, rugs, toys and the inevitable¹¹ tissues. Unusual items, such as giant drill sets or juice mixers, pop in and out of fashion.

Many of the items are siphoned off ships at Abidjan's port in clandestine¹² operations run by dock workers.

Here as well, there is no protection, and arbitrary policing.

Serge Zadi, who is selling boxers¹³ today, says he was once picked up by police, for no apparent reason, and put in jail for two days.

He got out after he paid a bribe¹⁴ of about $60.

He says life is hard but that he still prefers to do something other than stealing to get by.

This is not the case for all young men as criminality here is rising steadily¹⁵. There are more and more reports of armed robbers attacking cars stuck in traffic. Attacks on poorly secured restaurants are frequent as well.

Gangs also extort¹⁶ money from company, shop and restaurant owners to prevent their businesses from being looted, as is often the case during political riots. Often these businessmen do not pay any regular taxes to the government, bringing their own dealings into shady areas of lawlessness.

1 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

2 hustling   

催促（hustle的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Our quartet was out hustling and we knew we stood good to take in a lot of change before the night was over. 我们的四重奏是明显地卖座的， 而且我们知道在天亮以前，我们有把握收入一大笔钱。
• Men in motors were hustling to pass one another in the hustling traffic. 开汽车的人在繁忙的交通中急急忙忙地互相超车。

3 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

4 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

5 pothole   

n.坑，穴

参考例句：

• As the car sped over a pothole she lurched forward.车子飞驶过一个坑洼时，她身子猛地向前一倾。
• The young teacher knows every pothole in the 10-minute ride to school.这位年轻的老师熟悉这条往学校的10分钟路上的每一个坑洞。

6 protruding   

v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸

参考例句：

• He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
• There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句

7 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

8 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 proliferating   

激增( proliferate的现在分词 )； （迅速）繁殖； 增生； 扩散

参考例句：

• Computerized data bases are proliferating fast. 计算机化的数据库正在激增。
• Crown galls are cancerous growths composed of disorganized and proliferating plant cells. 冠瘿是无组织的正在不断增殖的植物细胞所组成的癌状物。

10 mascot   

n.福神，吉祥的东西

参考例句：

• The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
• We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

11 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

12 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

13 boxers   

n.拳击短裤；（尤指职业）拳击手( boxer的名词复数 )；拳师狗

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boxers slugged it out to the finish. 两名拳击手最后决出了胜负。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

15 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

16 extort   

v.勒索，敲诈，强要

参考例句：

• The blackmailer tried to extort a large sum of money from him.勒索者企图向他勒索一大笔钱。
• They absolutely must not harm the people or extort money from them.严格禁止坑害勒索群众。