VOA常速英语2105--全世界难民数量创新纪录

全世界难民数量创新纪录

WASHINGTON— The United Nations refugee agency says a record number of people worldwide have been displaced by war, violence and persecution¹ and the number of people forced to flee their homes is rapidly growing.

In a new report issued Thursday, the UNHCR says that at the end of 2014, there were nearly 60 million forcibly displaced people, about 8 million more than the year before and about 20 million more than a decade ago. The increase since 2013 was the highest ever in a single year.

A major exodus² of people from their homes started in 2011 with the eruption³ of civil war in Syria; but, in the past five years, armed conflicts and persecution also have sent people fleeing from their homes in Africa, Asia and Europe. Last year 42,500 people a day left their homes due to some type of violence.

2011年随着叙利亚内战的爆发，大批人口从本国逃离，但在过去五年内，武装冲突和迫害也导致人们从他们在非洲、亚洲和欧洲的家园离开。去年每天有4.25万人因为这种暴力事件而离开家园。

"The world became a mess and if people think that humanitarians⁵ can clean up the mess, they are wrong. We don't have the capacity to pick up the pieces," said Antonio Guterres,

“全世界变成一团糟，如果人们认为人道主义者能清理乱局，他们就错了，我们没有能力收拾残局。”

One in every 122 humans is now either a refugee or internally displaced or seeking asylum⁶. The report is a reflection of the state of the world today, said the U.N. High Commissioner⁷ for Refugees.

每122个人中就有一个或者是难民，或者在国内流离，或在寻求避难，联合国难民事务高级专员称这份报告反映了当今世界的现状。

"It's time for international community to assume its responsibilities not only to the people in distress⁸, but its responsibilities to be able to prevent or bring solutions to the conflicts that cause so much sufferings. "

“是时候让国际社会承担起责任了，不仅对处于困境人们的责任，还包括阻止冲突的发生，想办法解决导致这些苦难的冲突。”

Syria is currently the world's biggest producer of displaced people and refugees, followed by Afghanistan and Somalia. Syria's neighbor, Turkey, has become the world's top refugee-hosting nation. Greece and Italy are swamped with refugees who want to settle in Europe.

叙利亚目前是全世界最大的流离失所者和难民产生国，其次是阿富汗和索马里。叙利亚的邻国土耳其成为全世界最大的难民接收国，希腊和意大利也满是希望在欧洲定居的难民。

European officials cannot agree on how to share the burden.

欧洲官方对如何分担负担意见不一。

"Italy and Germany certainly both agree that we need to arrive at a more equitable⁹ distribution in Europe. In our view, the best way is mandatory¹⁰ quotas¹¹ for the European member states," said German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier.

“意大利和德国都认为欧洲需要更公平地分担责任，在我看来，最佳办法是对欧洲成员国实行强制配额。”

Several EU members have balked¹² at the idea and Hungary has announced plans to seal its border with Serbia. Many refugees use the Balkan route to reach Hungary on the way to Germany and Sweden.

几个欧盟成员国都反对这一主意，匈牙利宣布准备封锁其与塞尔维亚的边境线。很多难民沿着巴尔干路线抵达德国和瑞典。

"We are talking about 175km-long border area whose physical closure can happen with the 4-meter high fence."

“这条长175公里、高4米的篱笆能造成地理上的封闭。”

 

In Southeast Asia, a move to block overland refugee routes from Myanmar into Thailand led to a humanitarian⁴ crisis in the Andaman Sea when thousands of refugees switched to the sea route.

在东南亚，在数千名难民从陆路转向海路时，阻碍缅甸难民到泰国的举措导致安达曼海的人道主义危机。

1 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

2 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

3 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

4 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。

5 humanitarians   

n.慈善家( humanitarian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finally, humanitarians saw it as a means of helping to feed the hungry of the world. 人道主义者把这一计划看成是为世界上那些忍饥挨饿的人提供粮食的一项措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• All humanitarians fought against slavery. 所有人道主义者都为反对奴隶制而斗争过。 来自互联网

6 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

7 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

8 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

9 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

10 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

11 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

12 balked   

v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He balked in his speech. 他忽然中断讲演。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They balked the robber's plan. 他们使强盗的计划受到挫败。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》