环球英语 — 320：Research in the DRC

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I'm Adam Navis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The workers travel over hills and into valleys. They follow small paths through the jungle and forest. They ride on motorcycles, in cars and by bicycle. Sometimes they walk long distances. Sometimes, they travel on rivers, by canoe. They enter wealthy homes, and very poor ones. They go everywhere, even under the worst conditions. And more importantly, they talk to everyone. What are these workers doing? They are gathering² information about people's lives and deaths in one of the world's worst conflicts - the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Voice 2
These people work for the International Rescue Committee. This organization helps people affected³ by war. It brings emergency help and medical aid to conflict areas. It helps refugees⁴. And it works for human rights. That is why the organisation⁵ has workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo - the DRC.
Voice 1
The workers are doing a mortality study. They are investigating and recording⁶ the causes of death in the ongoing⁷ civil war in the DRC. Normally, governments record the number of deaths and births in their own country. In this way, they know about their population. They know facts like average age, family size and the issues that affect people. So they can change policies to better serve their people. Information like this is also important to aid organizations and international agencies. They use it to plan their work.
Voice 2
But conflict changes this situation. In the middle of a conflict, governments usually cannot keep good records. And this means that it is unclear what problems are affecting normal people until it is too late.
Voice 1
This is the situation in the DRC. Since the 1990s, this country has been involved in civil war. The DRC is a large country, one of the largest in Africa. And it has many natural resources, especially valuable minerals, such as copper⁸, cobalt and diamonds.
Voice 2
But these natural resources have not brought peace. Instead, they have usually brought conflict. Through the DRC's recent history, different groups have controlled the country. But they did not usually care about the people. They only cared about gaining wealth. For many years, the area was a colony of Belgium. In 1960, the country became independent. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Joseph Mobutu ruled the country. During this time, the DRC became known for corruption⁹. If you wanted something done, you had to pay a government official a secret bribe¹⁰. Foreign companies with lots of money paid to work in the country. But no one worked for the people. Roads were not fixed¹¹. Buildings fell apart. Hospitals, clinics and schools were not well supported.
Voice 1
In the late 1990s, anti-Mobutu rebels defeated the government. But they did not bring order to the country. Since then, rebel groups have continued to fight for control of the DRC. Also, rebels from neighbouring countries have been using faraway parts of the DRC to hide. And sadly, this continuing conflict has had terrible effects for the people of the DRC.
Voice 2
The International Rescue Committee tells the sad story of Victor Bahoya and his family. In 1998, the war reached their village. They left, and hid in the mountains. When they returned, their village was in a terrible condition. Their home was gone. And their farm had been badly damaged. Many people in the village were sick with disease. But there were no doctors or clinics close enough to help. Women had been raped¹². And children were stolen to become soldiers.
Voice 1
Sadly, it seemed that no one would help them. People like the Bahoyas and their village were far away from other people. And they were poor. As a result, few people knew what was happening in their village, and the many other village areas affected by the conflict.
Voice 2
The International Rescue Committee did see the situation. They had been working in the DRC since 1996. They saw the situation getting worse. But they also knew that few people knew or cared about the conflict. They called it the "forgotten emergency".
Voice 1
This is why they decided¹³ to do a mortality study. Since 2000, they have done five mortality studies. If they could find out how many people were dying in the conflict, and why, then they would know how to react. And it would show the world the seriousness of the situation.
Voice 2
The method for each study is the same. The war has damaged the roads, so getting to some areas was difficult. It took a long time. But the workers knew that they must travel to even the most faraway places. The workers questioned people in every place. For the 2008 study, they visited over forty-eight thousand [48,000] homes. They asked people a particular set of questions. These included "Has anyone in your home died?" "When did this happen?" and "How did the person die?" Using the answers, researchers made estimates of the human cost of the war.
Voice 1
They have discovered that more than 5,400,000 people have died as a result of this conflict since 1998. This makes it the second worst conflict in the world's history. 98 percent of these deaths were from preventable diseases, including malaria¹⁴, diarrhoea, and malnutrition¹⁵. Many people just cannot get the help they need. The death rate is 60 percent higher than the average in sub-Saharan Africa.
Voice 2
These numbers shocked the world. And it has made many more groups get involved in work there. But sadly, the conflict has continued. Rebel groups continue to attack villages. And today, many people know about the terrible sexual¹⁶ crimes common in some areas of the DRC.
Voice 1
But there are signs of hope. The 2008 study showed that the death rate has slowed in some eastern areas of the country. And the International Rescue Committee has been able to use the research to plan their work. Because health problems are a major concern, they have worked to rebuild health systems, including hospitals, schools and clinics. They have supported projects to prevent sexual crimes, and to support the victims of these crimes. And they are working with people like Victor Bahoya. Victor is now involved in his village's development committee, supported by the International Rescue Committee. He told them,
Voice 3
"The people here are hungry for development. If we can all continue working together, then even war cannot ruin us."
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

5 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

15 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

16 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。