VOA标准英语2008年-UN Reports 500,000 Kenyans Will Need Assistance

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
11 January 2008

The United Nations says it expects one half million people in Kenya, whose livelihoods² were destroyed during post-election violence, will need assistance in the coming months. U.N. aid agencies report the situation in the country has stabilized³, but remains⁴ precarious⁵. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

For now, United Nations humanitarian⁶ operations are mainly focused on getting food and other vital relief supplies to tens of thousands of the most vulnerable people in the Rift⁷ Valley and slums of the capital Nairobi.

They are among more than one quarter of a million people who have been displaced by the ethnic⁸ clashes following Kenya's disputed presidential election at the end of December.

Elizabeth Byrs is Spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination⁹ of Humanitarian Assistance. She says the United Nations is expected to launch an appeal next week on behalf of 255,000 people in Kenya. But, she says twice that number are likely to need assistance in the coming months.

"Some farms have been burned, livelihoods have been destroyed," said Byrs. "So, we fear that malnutrition¹⁰ will worsen. So, if their fragile livelihood¹ has been destroyed, what can you expect? We will have to help them. I am not talking about camps or providing assistance to IDPs [internally displaced people] in camps. But, we will have to help the country to restore the livelihoods of the most vulnerable."

U.N. aid agencies report security in the country has improved and they are now able to distribute aid without difficulty. But, they say the situation remains very tense and some truck drivers are reluctant to move relief supplies to the needy¹¹ without an armed escort.

For the first time since the riots broke out, the World Food Program has started distributing food in Nairobi's slums. Spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume says more than 30,000 people in Kibera and three other slums in the capital are receiving assistance.

"It is a priority for us right now to feed those people because for them the situation has been very difficult," Berthiaume. "Most of them are daily workers. They could not work because of the insecurity and the violence and the fighting.

"And, there has been very, very little food getting into the slums. And, the little food that got in has been sold at a tremendous price. There has been a raise of 400 percent of the prices of the food in the market," she added. 

Berthiaume notes a majority of the slum dwellers¹² live on about one dollar a day and cannot afford to buy food at those prices.

WFP also has been feeding 46,000 displaced people in the hard-hit Rift Valley. This program complements¹³ the government's distribution of cereal to 71,000 displaced.

Berthiaume says a WFP helicopter is now flying over the valley to try to locate people who may have been cut off from the road and from assistance. Those who are found, she says, will be helped in the coming days.

1 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

2 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

3 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

6 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。

7 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

10 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。

11 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

12 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 complements   

补充( complement的名词复数 )； 补足语； 补充物； 补集（数）

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design. 他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• The isoseismal maps are valuable complements to the instrumental records. 等震线图是仪器记录有价值的补充资料。