VOA常速英语2021--内战中的也门即将陷入严重饥荒

The United Nations warned Monday that Yemen is no closer to peacefully resolving its civil war as the country spirals faster toward famine and other catastrophes¹.

联合国星期一警告说，也门距离和平解决内战还相距甚远，该国正加速走向饥荒和其他灾难。

U.N. humanitarian² chief Martin Griffiths told reporters on Monday, quote, "There is perhaps one overarching humanitarian priority and that is to stop the famine."

联合国人道主义事务负责人马丁·格里菲斯星期一对记者说，“这可能是最首要的一项人道主义优先任务，那就是停止饥荒。”

Griffiths said "about 5 million people are just one step away," these are his words, "from succumbing³ to famine and the diseases that go with it."

格里菲斯说，“大约500万人”，这是他的原话，“离死于饥荒和随之而来的疾病只有一步之遥。”

He said, "Ten million more people are right behind them."

他说，“还有1000万人紧随其后。”

Griffiths said the famine is a symptom of the country's deeper collapse⁴.

格里菲斯说，饥荒是这个国家进一步崩溃的征兆。

More than six years of war have pushed the Middle East's poorest country to the brink⁵.

六年多的战争已经将这个中东最贫穷的国家推向了边缘。

While food is available in the country's markets, people can no longer afford it.

虽然在该国的市场上还可以买到食物，但人们已经买不起了。

The country's GDP, gross domestic product, is down 40 percent since the war started in 2015 and fuel shortages have become critical.

该国的国内生产总值自2015年战争开始以来下降了40%，燃料短缺极其严重。

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on an Eritrean official it accused of being engaged in serious human rights abuse in the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, where thousands have been killed and over two million displaced.

美国星期一对一名厄立特里亚官员实施制裁，指控这名官员在埃塞俄比亚提格雷地区的冲突中严重侵犯人权。在那里，数千人被杀死，200多万人流离失所。

The U.S. Treasury⁶ Department said in a statement that it blacklisted the chief of staff of the Eritrean Defense⁷ Forces.

美国财政部在一份声明中表示，已将厄立特里亚国防军参谋长列入黑名单。

The Treasury said he commands forces that have been operating in Tigray and accused the forces of being responsible from massacres⁸, sexual assaults and purposely shooting civilians⁹ in the streets, among other human rights abuses.

财政部说，他指挥的部队一直在提格雷执行任务，并控告这些部队要对屠杀、性侵犯、故意在街上枪杀平民以及其他侵犯人权的行为负责。

The U.S. has repeatedly called for Eritrean troops to withdraw from Tigray.

美国一再呼吁厄立特里亚军队从提格雷撤军。

Eritrea sent troops to Tigray after Ethiopian federal forces launched an offensive in November in response to attacks on federal government bases by forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

去年11月，埃塞俄比亚联邦军队发动攻势，以回应忠于提格雷人民解放阵线的部队对联邦政府基地的袭击，厄立特里亚随后向提格雷派兵。

Eritrea denied for months that its troops were in the region but later acknowledged their presents while denying they were responsible for abuses.

厄立特里亚几个月来一直否认其军队在该地区，但后来承认了他们的存在，同时否认他们对虐待事件负有责任。

1 catastrophes   

n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 )；灾难；不幸事件；困难

参考例句：

• Two of history's worst natural catastrophes occurred in 1970. 1970年发生了历史上最严重两次自然灾害。 来自辞典例句
• The Swiss deposits contain evidence of such catastrophes. 瑞士的遗址里还有这种灾难的证据。 来自辞典例句

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 succumbing   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的现在分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• Mrs. Smith washed and ironed clothes for him, succumbing to him. 史密斯太太被他迷住了，愿意为他洗衣烫衣。
• They would not in the end abandon their vital interests by succumbing to Soviet blandishment. 他们最终决不会受苏联人的甜言蜜语的诱惑，从而抛弃自己的切身利益。

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 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 massacres   

大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败

参考例句：

• The time is past for guns and killings and massacres. 动不动就用枪、动不动就杀、大规模屠杀的时代已经过去了。 来自教父部分
• Numberless recent massacres were still vivid in their recollection. 近来那些不可胜数的屠杀，在他们的头脑中记忆犹新。

9 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。