VOA标准英语2009年-Flooding May Delay Start of Mauritanian Sc

By Scott Stearns
Dakar
25 September 2009

 
People waiting to be registered for assistance in the city of Rosso, Mauritania, 25 Sep 2009 
Flooding in Mauritania may delay the start of the school year as people displaced by heavy rains are living in classrooms. Flooding in West Africa is affecting nearly 600,000 people.

More than 11,000 Mauritanians in the southern Rosso area are receiving assistance from the United Nations World Food Program including cereals, vegetable oil, and sugar.

Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf is promising¹ to provide clean drinking water to those displaced, and the United Nations Children's Fund is working with the national water company to install pumps.

This area near the Senegal River has been particularly hard hit by heavy rains. Many of those displaced are living in shelters on higher ground seven kilometers north of Rosso along the road to the capital.

That may delay the start of the school year as many children in the area are far from home and some classrooms are being used to house those displaced by the flooding.

Farmer Souleiman Sall is a father of eight.

He says he registered his family for assistance but only one of his wives received aid while he says other women are going from registration² center to registration center signing up more than once.

Yacoub Ould Ousman came to Rosso from the flooded area of Satara on a horse cart because he lost his wheelchair.

Ousman says he registered for assistance but his registration was canceled. Some of the people around him are being helped. Others are not. He says he feels like a citizen without a country and does not know what to do because there is no one to complain to.

Yahya Ould Cheikh Mohamed Vall is the governor of Rosso.

Vall says the local government has registered more than 3,000 people who need help because of the flooding. He says the process has been slowed as local authorities have to verify the validity of claims because Vall says many people are coming to Rosso from areas that are not affected³ by flooding in hopes of getting aid for which they are not entitled.

The area around Rosso is also home to several thousand former refugees who have recently returned to Mauritania from Senegal.

Vall says those refugees already live in better conditions than most Mauritanians as they have been given tents, land, and cattle.

Boubacar Mboje coordinates⁴ the repatriation⁵ of former refugees around Rosso.

Mboje says most returning refugees live in hangars or small tents without sides, so they are not protected from rains that are destroying much of their personal property.

Aid agencies, including the Lutheran World Federation⁶, are helping⁷ control mosquitos, disinfect toilets, and remove garbage.

There has also been flooding in the city of Kaedi and the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott.

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 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？

3 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。

4 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 repatriation   

n.遣送回国，归国

参考例句：

• The Volrep programme is the preferred means of repatriation. 政府认为自愿遣返计划的遣返方法较为可取。 来自互联网
• Arrange the cargo claiming and maritime affairs,crews repatriation,medical treatment,traveling so on. （六）洽办货物理赔，船舶海事处理，办理船员遣返，就医，旅游等。 来自互联网

6 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。