VOA慢速英语2020 非洲封锁导致物资运送受阻

As Africa Locks Down, Some Deliveries of Aid Are Threatened

More than half of Africa's 54 countries have closed their land, air and sea borders to fight the spread of the coronavirus. Aid organizations fear the restrictions¹ may stop or delay important assistance to the people.

为了抗击新冠病毒疫情，在非洲54个国家中，超半数国家已经封锁了陆地、领空和领海边界。援助组织担心，这些封锁措施会阻拦或推迟对人民来说重要的援助。

Africa now has more than 7,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The continent also has to deal with hunger, armed conflicts and swarms² of crop-destroying locusts⁴.

非洲确诊的新冠病毒患者已经超过7000人。非洲大陆还面临着饥饿，武装冲突以及导致农作物大量被毁的蝗灾问题。

If humanitarian⁶ aid is stopped by the outbreak, "the results will be catastrophic," the medical group Doctors Without Borders warned in a statement last week.

上周，医学组织“无国界医生”在一份声明中警告称，如果人道主义援助因疫情爆发受阻，“那么后果将是毁灭性的”。

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported at least 32 countries have now closed their borders. This has forced aid organizations to negotiate for emergency flights and find pathways for humanitarian efforts.

非洲疾控中心报告称，至少32个国家已经关闭了边界。此举迫使援助组织为紧急航班进行交涉并为设法进行人道主义工作。

The Vaccine⁷ Alliance GAVI said that at least 21 poor countries, mostly in Africa, face shortages of important vaccines⁸ because of border closures or flight cancellations. The United Nations had said earlier that some countries were refusing to accept shipments from nations with coronavirus outbreaks.

全球疫苗免疫联盟（GAVI）表示，至少有21个贫穷国家，大部分位于非洲，由于边境关闭或航班取消而面临重要疫苗的短缺。联合国早些时候表示，一些国家拒绝接收来自爆发疫情的国家的货物。

Problems with locusts

蝗灾

The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, or FAO, added that flight restrictions are also hurting efforts to control large groups of locusts in East Africa.

联合国粮食及农业组织(FAO)补充说，航班限制也损害了在东非控制蝗灾的努力。

The continent is experiencing the worst locust⁵ outbreak in 70 years. And the flight restrictions have delayed the arrival of pesticides⁹ to control the insects.

非洲大陆正在经历70年来最严重的蝗灾。航班限制导致控制昆虫的杀虫剂无法及时运抵。

Cyril Ferrand leads the FAO's support program for East Africa. He told Reuters that without the pesticides to control insects, there could be 4 million more people struggling to feed their families.

西里尔·费朗德(Cyril Ferrand)是粮农组织东非支持项目的负责人。他告诉路透社记者，如果没有杀虫剂来控制昆虫，可能会有400多万人无法养家糊口。

The locusts came from Yemen and have damaged crops in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. It is the second swarm³ of locusts to attack the area. It has come just as new-season crops are being planted. Ferrand warned if the "insects are landing on these young crops, then these farmers will be facing a 100 percent loss."

这些蝗虫来自也门，肯尼亚、索马里和埃塞俄比亚的农作物已经遭到破坏。这是第二批袭击该地区的蝗虫。这场蝗灾恰逢新季节作物的种植期。费朗德警告称，如果“蝗灾落在这些新种的作物上，那么这些农民将会颗粒无收。”

Humanitarian pathways

人道主义通道

Shortly before South Africa began its three-week lockdown, the World Food Program, or WFP, negotiated a pathway to send shipments of food through the country to other southern African nations.

就在南非开始为期三周的封锁前不久，世界粮食计划署(WFP)通过谈判找到了一条通过南非向其他南部非洲国家运送粮食的途径。

Lola Castro is the World Food Program's director for southern Africa. She said the lockdown affected¹¹ the program. She urged that "it's extremely important that food systems continue ... (and) also be able to move across borders."

罗拉·卡斯特罗是世界粮食计划署南部非洲项目主任。她说，封锁导致整个项目受到影响。她敦促说：“维持粮食系统继续并跨境流动是极其重要的。”

A recently released FAO document on the coronavirus notes that restrictions during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2016 caused a lot of hunger. It said the suffering worsened as the lockdown led to labor¹² shortages at harvest time and farmers were unable to bring their crops to market.

世界粮农组织最近发布的一份关于冠状病毒的文件指出，2014-2016年西非埃博拉疫情期间的限制措施导致很多人食不果腹。该组织称，由于封锁导致收获季节劳动力短缺，农民无法将作物推向市场，情况进一步恶化。

Words in This Story

locust – n. a type of grasshopper¹³ that travels in large groups and can caused destruction by eating crops

swarm – n. a large group of bugs¹⁴

pesticide¹⁰ – n. a chemical that kills bugs

lockdown – n. to completely shut down a community

outbreak - n. the sudden appearance of a disease

catastrophic - adj. something that is terrible for many people

shipment - n. an item that is sent from one place to another

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 swarms   

蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They came to town in swarms. 他们蜂拥来到城里。
• On June the first there were swarms of children playing in the park. 6月1日那一天，这个公园里有一群群的孩子玩耍。

3 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

4 locusts   

n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树

参考例句：

• a swarm of locusts 一大群蝗虫
• In no time the locusts came down and started eating everything. 很快蝗虫就飞落下来开始吃东西，什么都吃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 locust   

n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐

参考例句：

• A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
• This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。

6 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。

7 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

8 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

9 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

11 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。

12 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

13 grasshopper   

n.蚱蜢，蝗虫，蚂蚱

参考例句：

• He thought he had made an end of the little grasshopper.他以为把那个小蚱蜢干掉了。
• The grasshopper could not find anything to eat.蚱蜢找不到任何吃的东西。

14 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》