voa标准英语2008年-Concern Grows Over Cholera Outbreak in Zimbabwe

Humanitarian¹ officials are expressing growing concern over deteriorating² health and sanitation³ conditions in Zimbabwe as crisis talks between political parties show no signs of progress. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from our Southern African Bureau in Johannesburg.
　

A child walks barefoot past rain water and sewage near Harare, Zimbabwe, 25 Nov 2008

A senior Zimbabwean health official Thursday appealed for international aid to fight a growing epidemic⁴ of cholera⁵ which he said has killed nearly 400 people.

His call came as cholera cases were detected in neighboring South Africa and Botswana, mostly among travelers arriving from Zimbabwe.

South African Health Minister Barbara Hogan said South African health services are trying to care for the Zimbabwean victims.

"Given the scale of the outbreak, the weakened health system in Zimbabwe and the extended cross border movement of people it was agreed that all aspects of our interventions⁶ needed to be scaled up and a renewed sense of urgency to deal with this outbreak is needed at all levels," she said.

But she added that a major focus should be to help repair sanitation plants and provide clean water in Zimbabwe.

The United Nations reported nearly 9,000 cases of cholera in Zimbabwe, saying the water-borne disease had spread due to collapsing⁷ health and sanitation systems. Zimbabwe's public services have experienced serious decay due to economic decline, shortages of basic goods and the flight of skilled workers.

U.N. officials also said nearly half of the country's population of 10 million people needed food assistance and this number was likely to increase in the coming months. But they said food aid would run out in January unless additional donations were forthcoming.
　

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, left, and new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai pose after signing the power-sharing accord, 15 Sept 2008

There have been calls for increased isolation⁸ of the government of President Robert Mugabe because of a lack of progress in crisis talks between the country's three main parties.

The talks are aimed at forming a government of national unity⁹ more than two months after the parties signed a power-sharing accord. Under the accord, Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party is to divide government ministries¹⁰ with two factions¹² of the Movement for Democratic Change which won a majority of parliamentary seats in elections eight months ago.

The leader of the main MDC faction¹¹, Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai, Wednesday issued a statement saying his party was shifting its focus from the power-sharing talks to the humanitarian crisis.

He accused Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party of refusing to implement¹³ the power-sharing accord. He also called the mediator¹⁴ in the talks, former South African President Thabo Mbeki, to step down accusing him of failing to understand the country's problems and of supporting ZANU-PF.

The statement also criticized the reappointment Wednesday of Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono to a new five-year term. It accused Gono of being the architect of Zimbabwe's economic crisis, characterized by falling productivity, hyper-inflation and 80 percent unemployment.

However, Mr. Tsvangirai said his party was not withdrawing from the power-sharing talks and would continue to participate in the discussions.

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 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

3 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。

4 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

5 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

6 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

7 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

8 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

9 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

10 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

11 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

12 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

13 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

14 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。