VOA标准英语2013--叙利亚库尔德难民担心在伊拉克北部严寒的冬天

 

Syrian Kurdish Refugees Fear Harsh Winter in Northern Iraq 叙利亚库尔德难民担心在伊拉克北部严寒的冬天

ERBIL, IRAQ — Hundreds of thousands of Syrians, mostly Kurds, have fled into northern Iraq, many living in abandoned houses in the region’s capital. They are now facing the prospect¹ of battling harsh winter conditions.

埃尔比勒,伊拉克——成千上万的叙利亚人,主要是库尔德人,逃到伊拉克北部,许多住在废弃的房屋在地区的资本。他们现在面临的如何度过严冬的困境。

It’s morning on the outskirts² of Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Aisha, a refugee from Syria, is cooking food for the four families that are squatting³ together in a half-built house. The house has no kitchen, so she cooks in a neighboring construction site, burning discarded wood to make bread.

Because the families don’t live in a refugee camp, they survive by eating food handed out by their neighbors.

While Aisha cooks, another woman sews scraps⁴ of fabric⁵ together to make children’s clothes.

"People don’t bring us food everyday. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. When they do, they bring us bread and sometimes vegetables. We don’t have any money, just a few clothes," she said.

The U.N. refugee agency estimates that in the past two months, about 63,000 Syrians have entered the Kurdish region of Iraq, bringing the total number of refugees there to at least 220,000.  Most of them are ethnic⁶ Kurds.  

William Tall, the chief UNHCR representative here, is worried that winter conditions in the coming months will be very difficult for the large number of refugees to endure.

"Mud will be a reality. I think we should accept that. It’s gonna be muddy. It’s gonna be dirty. It’s gonna be unpleasant. When you have cold weather with some nutritional⁷ issues, maybe with poor sanitation⁸, this can lead to a serious situation," said Tall.

Down the road from Aisha, Ahmed lives with his family in an abandoned house. His family is one of three who have turned the concrete shell into a home.

Thanks to an economic boom in Erbil, he is able to provide for his family by working as an unskilled laborer⁹ on a construction site. Before the war, he worked in a restaurant in Aleppo. He fled to Iraq after one of his daughters died.

“My daughter got sick during a bomb attack while I was out buying bread. She went pale, so I rushed her to the hospital, but when we arrived there wasn't anyone to help her, so she died,” said Ahmed.

He said he wants to return home, but not until it is safe for his family.

For Ahmed and Aisha, fleeing to northern Iraq has kept their families safe from weapons of war. As winter approaches, though, they face being left in the cold. 

1 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

2 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

3 squatting   

v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。

参考例句：

• They ended up squatting in the empty houses on Oxford Road. 他们落得在牛津路偷住空房的境地。
• They've been squatting in an apartment for the past two years. 他们过去两年来一直擅自占用一套公寓。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

5 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 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。

8 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。

9 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。