VOA标准英语2014--索马里再次面临长时间的干旱与饥荒的威胁

 

Prolonged Droughts Threaten Renewed Famine in Somalia

WASHINGTON— 

Droughts and heavy fighting have brought Somalia close to another bout¹ of famine, just three years after food shortages killed 260,000 people in the troubled Horn of Africa country. The United Nations has begun urgent humanitarian² aid deliveries to parts of Somalia that previously³ were controlled by armed insurgents⁴. Zlatica Hoke reports that Somali journalists have discussed how they could contribute to peace building in the troubled country.

Thousands of Somalis have fled to a camp near the Ethiopian border this year, as a prolonged drought has made it impossible to make a living at home.

“I moved here because in the location where we lived before, we used to get water from wells. The wells have since dried up. I am here so that I can be closer to both the water supply and the town," said Zainab Buralee, a camp resident.

Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991, when its military leadership was overthrown⁵. Since then, Islamist militants⁶ have battled the central government, fostering terror across the country in their effort to establish an Islamic state. The violence has forced people from their homes and fields, and has exacerbated⁷ food shortages. 

“There is an offensive against the insurgents. The al-Shabab militants in some parts of the region, the Bay and Bakool regions. So a lot of people are displaced from their homes as a result of that crisis. So that increases the number of the IDPs (internally displaced persons) that were already vulnerable to this drought," said Abdiwelli Jamal Hassan, a humanitarian coordinator⁸.

The government has been fighting to reclaim⁹ the territory held by the terrorist group al-Shabab. A recent U.S. drone strike killed the group's leader, but roads in many parts of the country are unsafe.

"Somalia as a country had a very difficult situation and circumstances where many communities were cut off from health services because of [a lack of] accessibility and insecurity,” said UNICEF’s Abdinor Hussein.

The United Nations has begun an airlift of urgent food and medical supplies into southwestern parts of the country that were controlled by the militants until March of this year. Many children in those areas have not been vaccinated¹⁰ yet.

"The first child got measles¹¹ when he was six. He developed high fever and had diarrhea and, after 10 days, he developed a skin rash. He is lucky to have survived. My other three children also contracted measles at the age of four and had the same symptoms,” said one mother.

Somali journalists, meeting in Mogadishu, discussed what they could do to help stabilize¹² the country. 

"We as Somali journalists, I think it is important for us to have peace and we need it in reality because every day, journalists are killed here in Somalia. We are wounded and some journalists have fled the country. So I believe we need peace,” said Burhan Dini Farah, one of the journalists.

The meeting coincided with the release of German-American journalist Michael Scott Moore, who was kidnapped by Somali pirates more than two-and-a-half years ago.

1 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

2 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。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

5 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• 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。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

9 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

10 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

11 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

12 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。