2006年VOA标准英语-WFP Running Out of Cash for Angolan Humanitaria

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
12 July 2006

The World Food Program warns it will have to stop feeding more than 700,000 Angolans in September if it does not receive new cash donations by the end of this month. The U.N. agency says it needs $12.6 million to continue its humanitarian¹ operations until the end of the year.

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Malnourished children in a refugee camp near Lobito, Angola, wait for a plate of corn porridge
(File photo - Nov. 14, 2002)
  
WFP Spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume says the situation is so bad that for the past year, the agency has been forced to cut rations² in half for tens of thousands of refugees who had returned to Angola after many years in exile.

She says the World Food Program does not know how it will support another 80,000 refugees who are expected to return in the coming months from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

"They are coming back home with nothing. They were living in camps. They never were able to get some belongings³. They have nothing," said Berthiaume. "So, they really need the food and this is our responsibility to give them the food until the next harvest at least for them to be able settle down."

The next harvest is not until April and May 2007. Berthiaume says there is enough food to continue feeding the hungry through August. But the WFP's humanitarian operation will shut down in September if money is not received in the next two weeks.

"700,000 Angolans are really in dire⁴ need of help. And, WFP conducted a study late last year in some of the rural areas of southern and eastern Angola. And, this study showed that more than 900,000 people still do not get enough food. And, that at least 45 percent of children under the age of five are chronically⁶ malnourished. They are suffering from stunting," continued Berthiaume.

Berthiaume says children are the most vulnerable and the ones who suffer the most. She notes chronic⁵ malnutrition⁷ can cause irreversible learning problems.

Angola's 30-year-long civil war shattered most of the country's infrastructure⁸ and social services. Berthiaume says Angola is rich in natural resources and one day it will have the money to take care of its own people.

But until then, she says the government will continue to require international support for reconstruction⁹ and for basic assistance to hundreds of thousands of its citizens.

1 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。

2 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

3 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

4 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

5 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。

6 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

7 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。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。