VOA标准英语2009年-Humanitarian Situation in War-torn Yemen W

U.N. aid agencies say they are very concerned about the deteriorating¹ humanitarian² situation in Yemen because of increased fighting between al-Houthi rebels and government forces in the mountains of northern Yemen. The U.N. refugee agency reports about 35,000 people around Sa'ada city have been displaced by the fighting in the past two weeks alone.
　
Image taken from video released by the office of rebel leader Abdel Malik al-Hawthi purports³ to show a scene following aerial bombing in Haydan, Sa'ada province, Yemen, 12 Aug 2009

U.N. aid agencies describe a chaotic⁴ scene of misery⁵ and desperation. They say the area where the fighting is raging is remote and inaccessible⁷. They say the roads to Sa'ada governorate are blocked and there is no access to the conflict zone by air.

They say many of those fleeing are taking great risks and are paying smugglers to get out of the area. The displaced are heading off in different directions in search of safety. Several camps for displaced people have been set up in Sa'ada city and other nearby governorates.

U.N. refugee spokesman, Andrej Mahecic, says the UNHCR was part of a joint⁸ UN team that has just concluded a joint mission to assess the situation.

"Our staff found many families fled, abandoning homes or previous displacement⁹ areas, to join refugees further south," he said. "They need shelter, clean water and basic sanitation¹⁰ facilities. Yemeni authorities informed UNHCR it plans to open a camp in the area to accommodate arriving IDPs."

Mahecic says U.N. agencies plan other assessment¹¹ missions to areas of displacement. He says the UNHCR was granted access to Hajjah governorate where it began distributing relief assistance, including tents, plastic sheeting, blankets and jerry cans to IDPs.
　
Displaced Yemenis clamour for information as a UNHCR worker explains the registration¹² process at a school in Haradh, Aug 2009

But, he says, distribution of aid to displaced people in Sa'ada has been suspended due to the fighting.

"We are appealing for a ceasefire, which would allow the civilian¹³ population to escape the fighting and enable aid workers to resume deliveries of humanitarian assistance," said Mahecic. "We are also asking donor¹⁴ governments for an additional $5 million to be able to respond to this latest emergency."

"These urgently needed funds would allow UNHCR to organize coordination¹⁵ and management of the camps, expand registration and protection of IDP's, and provide much needed tents for shelter and other humanitarian assistance for the next four months," he added.

The U.N. Children's Fund says the current crisis is taking a terrible toll¹⁶ on children. It says malnutrition¹⁷ rates are high. It says 46 percent of children under five are underweight and 53 percent are suffering from stunting¹⁸.

The World Food Program says it provided high energy biscuits to 7,000 people last week and on Friday it began distributing a one-month ration⁶ of cereals, pulses, vegetable oil, salt and sugar to 10,000 people.

But, WFP says it is short of cash and only has two more weeks of stock on hand.

1 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。

2 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。

3 purports   

v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She purports to represent the whole group. 她自称代表整个团体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The document purports to be official but is really private. 那份文件据称是官方的，但实际上是私人的。 来自辞典例句

4 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

5 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。

6 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

7 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

10 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。

11 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

12 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

13 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

14 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。

15 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

16 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

17 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。

18 stunting   

v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective To report three-year-old twin brothers with speech stunting. 目的报道孪生兄弟同患语言发育迟缓的临床结果。 来自互联网
• No one should talk while stunting except coach or back spotter. 在技巧进行的过程中，只有教练或后保能说话。 来自互联网