VOA标准英语2010年-Years of Drought Means End to Way of L

The rains are finally coming back to Kenya, but drought still persists in the central region of Isiolo South. There, many pastoralists have had to give up their way of life.

It looks like a war zone. What once were emaciated¹, dehydrated cattle are now rotting corpses², victims of one of the worst droughts in the Garba Tulla area of Isiolo South.

In this part of Kenya, cattle are what put food on the table. When they are gone, so is a family's income.

Abdia Huka, 15, knows this only too well. She and her family now survive on food rations³.

"We used to have 50 sheep and goats," she said.  "Now, none of them are alive. We used to have 40 cows, 10 are remaining. We have a big problem with water and food."

Pastoralism has been a way of life in Isiolo South for centuries. 

For four consecutive⁴ years, seasonal⁵ rains have been much less than expected or have even failed altogether.

Liban Mohamed is regional manager of the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) Upper Eastern office. He says the past year has been particularly devastating⁶ for the area's water supply.

"In Garba Tulla and Isiolo alone, we have got five major rivers that are usually supplying water to the community," he noted⁷.  "For the first time in life, which I have also experienced, this year four out of five rivers have completely dried up. Imagine, with four rivers dried up, all the pans dried up, all the pastures gone, what we have seen is that this time the severity is more compared to the previous one."

Boreholes and water points are few and far between. People often walk long distances to get water.

Mohamed says an average household in the Garba Tulla area uses 20 liters of water within a three-day period. That works out to almost seven liters of water each day for drinking, cooking, and cleaning that as many as 10 people have to share.  As a result, diseases such as cholera⁸ have been on the rise in the past year.
 
Mohamed estimates that at least 30 percent of livestock⁹ in the Garba Tulla area have died from lack of water and pasture. He says that up to 80 percent of people in one village in the area are receiving food relief.  And that means pastoralism is becoming less and less viable¹⁰ as a way of life.

Galgalo Jarso is a waiter at the Al-Hudah restaurant in Garba Tulla town. He was a pastoralist until all of his 40 animals died in a previous drought.

"The life of pastoralists has to come to an end," he noted.  "All of your investment money can go in just one season. You work hard - after one season it all disappears. Those people who are still pastoralists had better sell all of their animals and live in town."

Jarso admits that he is one of the lucky ones.

"I have a friend who stopped pastoralism one year ago after his 30 animals died," he added.  "He came to town. He comes to my place to sleep. I sometimes give him food. When he does not get anything from me, he goes to sleep hungry."

Area residents are calling on the Kenyan government to help those who want to remain pastoralists.  Abdul Bahar Ali is Member of Parliament for Isiolo South. He explains how he thinks government and donors¹¹ should help his constituents¹².

"The government and other players in development, the partner agencies, can put together some consolidated¹³ fund, some money somewhere, which can be used," he said.  "[This money] can be used every time the drought is with us. The cyclical nature of the drought is such that it comes after every four years."

He urges the government to dig boreholes and to purchase livestock from area pastoralists so that they do not lose income if their livestock die.

1 emaciated   

adj.衰弱的，消瘦的

参考例句：

• A long time illness made him sallow and emaciated.长期患病使他面黄肌瘦。
• In the light of a single candle,she can see his emaciated face.借着烛光，她能看到他的被憔悴的面孔。

2 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

3 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。

4 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。

5 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

6 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

7 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。

8 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

9 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

10 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

11 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。