VOA标准英语2009年-Many in Central Somalia Need Food Aid Beca

By Cathy Majtenyi
Central Somalia
17 October 2009
 
Somali children in the drought area
Like the rest of eastern Africa, central Somalia is in the grips of a debilitating¹ drought. As a result, more than half of the population is in need of emergency food aid and one in five children is acutely malnourished. Large segments of the population have been displaced due to drought and ongoing² conflict. Aid workers predict that food aid will dry up by mid-November, making an already desperate situation even worse.

Five consecutive³ rainy seasons in the Mudug region with no rain.

The few remaining animals scrounge for what little pasture exists. 

Now, 51 percent of Mudug's population is in need of emergency food aid.

Malyuun Islan is one of them. She and her five children fled to a camp in Mudug's capital Gaalkacyo because of war and famine. "Not much has changed, except there is no fighting here. I'm still poor. I still have no access to water, no access to food," she says.

Many of the area's wells have dried up.

Beirut Khalif Lahuva was once able to feed her family. "We used to plant our own crops near our house. Now that we do not have water, we cannot plant crops anymore," she says.

Children are among the hardest hit, with one in five classified as acutely malnourished.

But getting help to those in need is an uphill battle. The United Nations, in its latest appeal, received less than half of the funds needed for desperate communities.

Aid workers say stocks of food aid will run out in mid-November.

Also, war and the lack of security are preventing aid workers from getting food to hungry people.

In Mudug, aid workers worry about being kidnapped. Some 13 aid workers are in captivity⁴ across Somalia.

There has been an upsurge of fighting recently, mostly between Islamist militant⁵ groups trying to wrest⁶ control over certain parts of the country.

Ahmed Ali Salad is governor of Mudug. He says his administration is doing what it can to address the drought. "We are trying to mitigate⁷ the situation by contributing salaries from the government staffs and taking emergency measures such as tracking water and distributing food, but that is not enough," he says.

Experts warn that the on-going conflict could escalate⁸ as people become more desperate for food and water.

1 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

2 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。

3 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

4 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 wrest   

n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲

参考例句：

• The officer managed to wrest the gun from his grasp.警官最终把枪从他手中夺走了。
• You wrest my words out of their real meaning.你曲解了我话里的真正含义。

7 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

8 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。