VOA常速英语2007-UN Says Rise in Afghan Attacks Threatens Winter

By Barry Newhouse
Islamabad
29 October 2007

The United Nations says 34 aid workers have died this year in Afghanistan - part of a surge in violence that threatens vital food deliveries before the arrival of winter. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad.

In recent years Afghanistan's harsh winter has also brought a welcome lull¹ in fighting. But this year, aid workers say the intensity² of the violence is preventing them from helping³ millions of people to prepare for the cold.

The United Nations says so far this year more than 34 aid workers have died and 76 have been abducted⁴ in Afghanistan. U.N. spokesman Tom Koenigs says the attacks against aid workers endanger the four million Afghans who rely on food assistance.

"This is a matter of great concern," he said. "Reaching the people is not a political issue, it is a humanitarian⁵ priority."

At a news conference Monday in Kabul, Koenigs appealed to the militants⁶, telling them that attacks on aid workers harm Afghanistan's most vulnerable communities. He stressed that aid workers help all Afghans regardless of what side of the conflict they are on.

The World Food Program's Rick Corsino says aid workers have about six weeks to deliver winter food supplies before some roads become impassable. But he says the rise in attacks against WFP vehicles makes the delivery timetable difficult.

"In all of 2006, we had five incidents against WFP vehicles," he said. "So far, 10 months this year, we've had 30."

Corsino says the organization has had about one thousand tons of food stolen this year. Despite the loss, he says workers have stockpiled enough for the winter. The problem is delivering the food to people who need it.

In some areas, he says, particularly in the south and west of the country, key roads have become too dangerous to drive on. In the past six weeks, all food deliveries have been suspended along the main road between Kandahar and Herat.

1 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

2 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

5 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。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。