VOA标准英语2009年-UNICEF Concerned About Displaced Children

The U.N. Children's Fund says it is deeply concerned about the condition of thousands of children who have been displaced by conflict in northwestern Pakistan. UNICEF says children are in urgent need of health, education and other services.
　
Displaced Pakistani children wait their turn at a food distribution center of Jalozai refugee camp in Peshawar, 25 May 2009

The U.N. Children's Fund reports nearly half of the estimated two million people displaced by conflict in Pakistan's Swat Valley are children.

It says many are in urgent need of health and educational services, nutritional¹ support, access to clean water and sanitation², as well as protection. It says these problems are made even more difficult by the sweltering summer heat.

UNICEF says it is particularly concerned that some 700,000 children will miss out on the coming school year. School is supposed to start in September. But, the agency says 3,700 schools may not be available for classes because they are being used to house 150,000 internally displaced people.

UNICEF spokeswoman, Veronique Taveau, says her agency has set up so-called child friendly spaces in the camps as a stopgap measure. She says these spaces have recreational and school learning equipment to help children get back to some semblance³ of normality.

She says children in the camps are better off than the tens of thousands of children who are living with family and friends in host communities.

"The problem we have at the moment is for us to be able to reach those families and those children that are in those communities, sometimes in remote spaces where we cannot have access," Taveau explained. "So, that is the concern we have at the moment because we know that some of those families and some of those children they are lacking almost everything like potable water, drinking water, hygiene⁴ and schooling⁵."

Fighting between government forces and Taliban militants⁶ erupted toward the end of April. Within three weeks, about two million people had fled their homes. The speed and magnitude of the crisis surprised the government and aid agencies and has put an enormous strain of their ability to provide assistance.

About 10 percent or 200,000 of the displaced are sheltering in camps, which are providing for their essential needs. But, the vast majority or 1.8 million people are living in host communities.

UNICEF says children and families are living in cramped⁷ conditions with limited aid in these communities. It says the monsoon⁸ season will soon begin and children, many of whom are malnourished, are at great risk of contracting water borne and other diseases.

It says its humanitarian⁹ efforts are being hampered¹⁰ by lack of funds. It says it has raised less than a third of the $543 million needed to support 1.7 million IDPs for six months.

 

1 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

2 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。

3 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

4 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

5 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

8 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

9 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。

10 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。