VOA常速英语2017--也门面临人道主义危机

 

Yemen's two-year conflict between the Houthi rebels and the country's elected government, supported by a Saudi-led coalition¹, has left the people of Yemen, in the words of Norwegian Humanitarian² leader Jen Egeland, “facing a famine of Biblical proportion”.

也门胡塞叛军与由沙特领导联盟支持的当局之间发生了长达2年的冲突。用挪威人道主义领袖扬 埃格兰(Jen Egeland)的话来说，冲突让也门人民“面临圣经级别的饥荒”。

According to the United Nations, since the conflict broke out in March 2015, nearly 4,800 civilians³ have been killed, and more than 8,200 others have been injured. At the same time, more than 3 million Yemenis have been displaced since the start of the crisis and some 70 percent of the country—or nearly 19 million people—is in need of humanitarian assistance. Today, over 17 million Yemenis are at risk of starvation.

联合国的数据显示，自冲突从2015年3月爆发以来，近4800名平民被杀，另有8200多人受伤。与此同时，300多万也门人自危机爆发以来流离失所。而也们全国有近70%的人——1900万人——需要人道主义援助。今天，有1700多万也门人面临食不果腹的危机。

The fighting has caused an economic collapse⁴ and severely⁵ restricted the importation of food, medicine, and fuel. Even before the crisis, Yemen relied on imports for 90 percent of its food and most of its fuel and medicines. This means that until the fighting stops, there is little chance Yemen will be able to stave off the looming⁶ humanitarian catastrophe⁷ on its own.

战乱引发了经济崩溃，并严重限制了粮食、药品和燃料的进口。即使在危机发生前，也门90%的粮食以及大部分燃料和药品都依赖于进口。也就是说，除非战乱停止，否则也门就没有什么希望靠自己来躲避即将发生的人道主义灾难。

The United States is one of Yemen's largest donors⁸ of aid. In late April, the U.S. government announced nearly 94 million dollars in additional humanitarian assistance to help the people of Yemen. This brings the total U.S. humanitarian contribution to Yemen to nearly 526 million dollars since the 2016 fiscal⁹ year.

美国是也门最大的援助支持国。去年4月，美国政府宣布再捐助近9400万美元的人道主义援助，以帮助也门人民。加上这笔资金，美国自2016年以来对也门的总人道主义贡献额达到近5.26亿美元。

The funds will go toward food and clean drinking water to vulnerable families, as well as nutrition treatment for malnourished children. It will also provide hygiene¹⁰ kits¹¹ to fight the spread of disease, as well as lifesaving medical supplies and training for health care workers. There will also be emergency shelter for those who had been displaced by the fighting.

这些资金将用于为不堪一击的家庭提供粮食、洁净饮用水并为营养不良的孩子提供营养治疗。资金还将用于购置洗漱卫生用具以阻止疾病的传播，并为医护人员提供挽救生命的医疗设备和培训。另外，那些因战乱而流离失所的人还将通过援助资金来获得应急避难的场所。

Conflict is the primary driver of this humanitarian crisis. The United States remains¹² committed to providing humanitarian support to the people of Yemen, while we work to end the conflict through a comprehensive peace agreement.

冲突是引发人道主义危机的主要原因。美国始终致力于为也门人民提供人道主义支持，同时我们也希望通过全面和平协定来结束冲突。

The United States calls upon all parties to ensure unimpeded access for commercial and humanitarian goods throughout the country. We also urge other humanitarian donors to increase their level of support during this critical time of need.

美国呼吁各方确保商业和人道主义物资能够不受阻碍地运抵也门各地。我们也敦促各个人道主义捐献国在这一紧要关头加大他们的支持力度。

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

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 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

6 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

7 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

8 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

10 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

11 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。