China pledges more aid for Horn of Africa

 　　BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China pledged on Thursday to make more efforts to aid people living in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa in collaboration¹ with the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC).

　　"We noticed that the ICRC launched an appeal regarding the situation in the Horn of Africa. The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) has decided² to donate 4 million yuan (about 623,000 U.S. dollars) to the ICRC for its humanitarian³ aid in the region," said Hua Jianmin, president of the RCSC, while meeting with visiting ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger in Beijing on Thursday.

　　Earlier this month, the RCSC donated 8 million yuan (1.25 million dollars) to famine-plagued countries in the Horn of Africa to be used for emergency humanitarian aid.

　　A donation of 2 million yuan was sent to Kenya through the country's Red Cross organization, while another 2 million went to Ethiopia. The other 4 million yuan was donated to other countries in the region.

　　The Chinese government has decided to provide a total of 90 million yuan (14 million dollars) in emergency food assistance to countries in the Horn of Africa.

　　"The Red Cross Society of China is willing to work together with the International Committee for the Red Cross to meet the needs of those who have been affected⁴ (by the droughts)," Hua said.

　　Some 12.4 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and other countries in the region are in dire⁵ need of food due to a serious drought, the worst to hit the region since the 1980s.

1 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。