2007年VOA标准英语-UNICEF: Pakistan Flood Victims Need Emergency H

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
14 July 2007

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is urgently appealing for $5 million to provide emergency assistance to tens of thousands of flood victims in Pakistan.  UNICEF estimates more than 1.5 million people are affected¹ by the floods in the southern provinces of Baluchistan and Sindh.  Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

rangers2 rescue stranded3 villagers from fllood-hit areas in Kahirpur Nathan Shah near Hyderabad, Pakistan, 13 July 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070716/1415310.jpg" width="194" vspace="2" border="0" />

Pakistani rangers rescue stranded villagers from fllood-hit areas in Kahirpur Nathan Shah near Hyderabad, Pakistan, 13 July 2007

The floods were provoked by four days of heavy rains following a devastating⁴ cyclone⁵, which hit Baluchistan and Sindh on June 23.  Official figures put the number of homeless people at more than 100,000.  About 300 people are reported dead, with many more still missing.

The U.N. Children's Fund says three out of four people affected by the floods are children and women.  It says at least 300,000 of the affected children are under the age of five. It says some of these children have lost their homes and they are exposed to extremely high temperatures. 

UNICEF spokeswoman, Veronique Taveau, says the children have limited access to clean water.   This, she says, puts them at particular risk of infectious diseases, epidemics⁶ and of becoming malnourished.

"That is why at the moment, UNICEF is pre-positioning, organizing all the distribution of the kits⁷ that we need for that not to happen," she said.  "And, we are closely monitoring the situation together with WHO, together with WFP in order to work in one way and to organize ourselves so that all what the population needs will be there when it is needed." 

Taveau says the U.N. agencies are presently conducting an assessment⁸ mission to evaluate the needs.  Baluchistan and Sindh are among the poorest provinces in Pakistan.  This makes children and women there particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.

UNICEF says one out of 10 infants dies before his or her first year of age.  It reports 40 percent of children under the age of five are underweight and maternal⁹ mortality is twice the country's average.

Taveau says UNICEF is worried that children will suffer from lack of food, safe water and medicine.  Another big problem, she says, is that of separated or unaccompanied children.

"We do not know exactly how many orphans¹⁰ we have and how many children are still looking for their parents, because the situation is still quite chaotic," she added.  "And, it is quite difficult to reach those two regions.  We can only go there by helicopter.  The roads are closed because of the floods.  So, the situation there is not very easy at the moment." 

Taveau says children who have no one to protect them are at increased risk of trafficking, exploitation and abuse.  She says girls and children of female-headed households also suffer from discrimination.  They experience more difficulties in getting basic humanitarian¹¹ services.

UNICEF says money from the appeal will be used to improve water, sanitation¹² and hygiene¹³.  It says it will provide special nutritional¹⁴ feeding to try to prevent children from becoming malnourished.  Two other priority areas include education and child protection.

1 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。

2 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

3 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

4 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

5 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

6 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

7 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

8 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

9 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

10 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

11 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。

12 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。

13 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。

14 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。