VOA常速英语2008年-Bush Seeks to Boost US Food Aid to Neediest Cou

By Michael Bowman
White House
14 April 2008

The Bush administration says it is working to provide additional food aid to hunger-ravaged countries that need it most. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from the White House, the initiative comes at a time when food prices have been rising sharply around the world, and many nations are complaining of severe shortages of basic goods.

The Bush administration notes that the United States is already the world's largest emergency food provider, contributing more than $2 billion in food aid last year that reached tens of millions of people in dozens of countries.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says President Bush wants to do more, and that Mr. Bush raised the issue at a cabinet meeting Monday.

"We are in a process right now of looking at ways to meet some of the ongoing¹ food needs of certain countries beyond what has already been provided," said Dana Perino. "The president has raised this issue with his national security advisors² and has asked that the State Department and USAID look at what can be done in the near term."

Perino did not list any specific countries to be targeted for additional food aid. But, in recent months, shortages of basic food staples³ have been reported in nations from Asia to Africa to the Americas. Just days ago, Haitian lawmakers dismissed their country's prime minister, saying he had failed to control soaring food prices.

Perino says swift action is required, but long-term solutions are also needed. She says food shortages and spiking⁴ food costs do not arise from any single event or trend, but rather result from a combination of factors that must be dealt with comprehensively.

"One [factor] is demand," she said. "Demand is extremely high. You also have transportation costs, and of course energy costs come into that when people are trying to move food from one place to another. In addition you have weather-related events such as the drought in Australia in which their wheat crops have not been as fruitful as in the past and so the prices have gone up there."

President Bush is not alone in calling for action. World Bank President Robert Zoellick is warning that surging food prices could push 100 million people in low-income nations into deeper poverty. Zoellick has called on food donor⁵ nations to provide an additional $500 million worth of immediate⁶ aid to combat the situation - a goal he says has only been partially⁷ met to date.

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

3 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

4 spiking   

n.尖峰形成v.加烈酒于( spike的现在分词 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。 来自辞典例句
• We could be spiking our own guns. 我们可能要遭到失败。 来自辞典例句

5 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。