VOA标准英语2014--Africa’s Megacities a Major Draw for Young Up-and-Comers

 

Africa’s Megacities a Major Draw for Young Up-and-Comers 

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — London. Paris. Lagos.  The list of international megacities is growing, with more and more African entries on the list.  Mayors from the world’s megacities met this week in Johannesburg to discuss the challenges their cities face. 

Like many Johannesburg residents, Simphiwe Kahla came from somewhere else. The 24-year-old student hails from a town in the rural Eastern Cape¹ province, but said Africa’s economic hub was now his home.

 

“ Here, you actually stay on your toes. It keeps you on your toes, it’s all about hustling², it’s all about business. I think I would really get bored if I would have to return to the Eastern Cape,” said Kahla.

Simphiwe Kahla is one of millions of people who have in recent years swarmed³ to Africa’s megacities: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cairo, Egypt; Lagos, Nigeria and Johannesburg, South Africa. Together these very different cities contain a staggering 20 million people.

Mayors from more than 40 megacities met in Johannesburg to discuss the many challenges faced by megacities.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg lauded⁴ the urbanization of Africa.

“In 2011, there were 52 African cities with a population higher than one million people. By 2016, in only two years, there will be around 65. And that’s a good thing," he said.

Africa megacities faced extra challenges, said Johannesburg’s executive mayor, Mpho Parks Tau.

“The difference of course is that megacities in the developing world have to deal with informalization of settlements because as people come into the city there isn’t always adequate accommodation to have those people coming to the cities. A lot of them find themselves in inadequate⁵ accommodation in slum environments,” said Tau.

Hannah Edinger, a director with the research group Frontier Advisory⁶, said one of the things that makes African megacities unique was that there just weren’t enough of them.

“What is interesting about African cities, unlike European cities for example, is there is only a few cities, and these cities are expanding quite rapidly," said Edinger.

Many new Johannesburg residents, like Songezo Mcapukisi, said they ccme here - not for the culture, the diversity or the restaurants - but for the money.

“We’re faced with the reality that our skills, they are only needed in the megacities, in the metropolitan⁷ cities. You know, I studied accounting⁸, and there are no jobs for accountants back home,” Mcapukisi.

Lawyer Chris Baird is one of the large number of young professionals who have flocked to Johannesburg.

“All of my friends are here. It’s a great place in terms of being a young professional. It’s where the great work is. It’s the economic hub of the country … I’ll give you, it’s not nearly as pretty as Cape Town, but it’s where you need to be if you want to climb up the ranks,” he said.

It may be a concrete jungle, but for more and more Africans, it’s home.

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 hustling   

催促（hustle的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Our quartet was out hustling and we knew we stood good to take in a lot of change before the night was over. 我们的四重奏是明显地卖座的， 而且我们知道在天亮以前，我们有把握收入一大笔钱。
• Men in motors were hustling to pass one another in the hustling traffic. 开汽车的人在繁忙的交通中急急忙忙地互相超车。

3 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

4 lauded   

v.称赞，赞美( laud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们颂扬前总统为英雄。 来自辞典例句
• The nervy feats of the mountaineers were lauded. 登山者有勇气的壮举受到赞美。 来自辞典例句

5 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

6 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

7 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

8 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。