VOA常速英语2008年-World Food Crisis Worsening

By Carolyn Presutti
Washington
25 April 2008
 

Increasing food prices have sparked protests in five African nations and several more countries worldwide.  United Nations officials are warning that food prices are likely to keep rising. Humanitarians¹ worry about the effect on lives, while some terrorism experts caution about an increase in violence and a situation ripe for terrorism recruitment.  VOA's Carolyn Presutti explains the connection.

One sees the faces of the hungry in many areas of the world, where food costs too much to afford.

The United Nation's World Food Program says at least 850 million people worldwide are hungry. Executive Director Josette Sheeran says, “The world's misery² index is rising to a silent tsunami³ that respects no borders - most don't know what hit them."

In Somalia, the price of the food staple⁴ sorghum⁵ has doubled since February. 

Peter Smerdon of the World Food Program predicts the rising prices will push poor people into destitution⁶ or even death. "We may have to cut rations⁷ or cut the number of people that we feed in Somalia because of these increased costs," he said.

The World Bank says wheat prices have increased 120 percent over the past year. The Peruvian defense⁸ minister says his country copes by making potato bread.

"Wheat isn't produced here; it's imported and every day it costs more," explains Peruvian Defense Minister Antero Flores-Araoz. "With the potato mixed into the bread, we try to avoid, to control as much as possible, the cost of the bread."

"Poor people in Yemen are now spending more than a quarter of their incomes just on bread before they pay for other essential foods for their children, let alone basic healthcare or shelter," Robert Zoellick, with the World Bank said.

In Asia, the military guards are precious cargo⁹.  The price of rice, the staple for Asian countries, has tripled since January.  Prices in Thailand surged to a record high on Thursday, 24 April.  

The hungry are driven to desperate acts, as desperation becomes the substitute for food.  In Haiti, there has been violence.  In Egypt, the same.

Professor Vanda Felbab-Brown of Georgetown University says world hunger threatens global security. "Anti-American groups such as al-Qaida will be able to mobilize marginalized, frustrated¹⁰ populations that are especially affected¹¹ by the food crisis," noted¹² Brown.

Some terrorism experts say al-Qaida will blame Western countries for the lack of food, then use modern technology for recruitment.

Jan Lane is with the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University. “People aren't pushed into radical¹³ ideology," she says. "They are pulled into rebellion through those social networks."

Lane says the U.S. and its allies need to counter the radical ideas with long-term solutions. "It's not an American [public relations] campaign,” she said. “It's not an American image campaign.  We have to offer and encourage alternative visions and hopes and dreams for these youth to come forward.  How can we work to insure they can have an alternative future, other than one that pulls them into extremism."

Lane says global counter-action needs to start now before the deepening food crisis worsens. The U.N. is already predicting that more than 100 million additional people could be plunged¹⁴ into hunger and malnutrition¹⁵ because of the crisis.

1 humanitarians   

n.慈善家( humanitarian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finally, humanitarians saw it as a means of helping to feed the hungry of the world. 人道主义者把这一计划看成是为世界上那些忍饥挨饿的人提供粮食的一项措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• All humanitarians fought against slavery. 所有人道主义者都为反对奴隶制而斗争过。 来自互联网

2 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

3 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

4 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

5 sorghum   

n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西

参考例句：

• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。
• They made sorghum into pig feed.他们把高粱做成了猪饲料。

6 destitution   

n.穷困，缺乏，贫穷

参考例句：

• The people lived in destitution. 民生凋敝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His drinking led him to a life of destitution. 酗酒导致他生活贫穷。 来自辞典例句

7 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

10 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

14 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

15 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。