VOA标准英语2011--More Aid Coming to African Drought Victi

More Aid Coming to African Drought Victims

The international community came together Saturday at the United Nations to find ways to mitigate¹ the current crisis in the Horn of Africa, but also to prevent future ones from happening. At the meeting, the World Bank chief announced nearly $2 billion in new funding for drought and famine related efforts in the region.
The United Nations has been warning about the growing crisis in the Horn of Africa for months. In Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti there are more than 13 million people in dire² need of assistance after a devastating³ drought triggered a famine.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the gathering⁴ that the epicenter of the crisis is in Somalia, where 750,000 people are at risk of imminent⁵ starvation and four million people need urgent humanitarian⁶ assistance.
He blamed Islamic extremists who are battling the Somali government for exacerbating⁷ the crisis.
"We have made progress in helping⁸ those most in need in Somalia. But it is still not enough," said Ban. "We could save many more lives if we were given free access to areas under the control of Al-Shabab. It is no coincidence that these are the districts where the crisis is most acute. Somalia will never be free of the threat of famine until it has peace and stability."
Additional aid
World Bank President Robert Zoellick addressed the summit via a video link. He announced the institution would increase its support to drought affected⁹ Horn of Africa countries from $500 million to nearly $2 billion to address short-term needs and fund long-term recovery.
"I am pleased to announce $1.88 billion in this program," said Zoellick. "It will cover three overlapping¹⁰ challenges: first rapid response to strengthen safety nets; second, to support the economic recovery through restoring livelihoods¹¹ and jobs; and third, drought resilience to help farmers prepare for what is to come."
Climate change
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga was among the African leaders attending Saturday's mini-summit who warned of the impact of climate change on the continent.
"The current drought and famine is partly the consequence of unmitigated impacts of climate change in our midst," said Odinga. "Adaption to climate change, therefore, needs to be a central theme in all future strategies and actions."
Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn echoed that, saying food insecurity in the region is shifting from settled farm communities to pastoral areas because of the effects of global warming.
"The impact of climate change on pastoral areas is more pronounced, as can be seen from the exceptionally harsh drought this year," said Desalegn. "It is clear now that pastoralism as way of life is fast becoming unviable and addressing the root cause of the problem must start from such a realization¹²."
Regional countries also expressed concern about the numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons from the crisis; the high number of fatalities¹³; and the fear that the coming rainy season could compound problems with flooding and water-borne diseases.

1 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。

2 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

3 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。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

6 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。

7 exacerbating   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This pedagogical understretch is exacerbating social inequalities. 这种教学张力不足加重了社会不平等。 来自互联网
• High fertilizer prices are exacerbating the problem. 高涨的肥料价格更加加剧了问题的恶化。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 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。

10 overlapping   

adj./n.交迭（的）

参考例句：

• There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
• A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。

11 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

12 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

13 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》