在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

The United Nations World Food Program says urgent action is needed to prevent what it calls a "serious tragedy" because of food shortages in North Korea. A bad harvest and soaring world food prices may be creating one of the leanest years in the North since a period of mass starvation in the mid-1990's.

联合国世界粮农组织说，需要采取紧急行动以防止北韩因粮食短缺而导致的严重悲剧。粮食歉收以及世界粮价大幅上涨，可能使北韩步入自上世纪90年代中期的大饥荒以来最为贫困的一年。

The United Nation's World Food Program warned Wednesday "time is running out" to avert¹ a "humanitarian² food crisis." Jean-Pierre de Margerie is the WFP's representative in Pyongyang.

联合国世界粮农组织星期三警告说，缓解人类粮食危机的时间紧迫。该机构在平壤的代表马杰里说：

"We have a bit of a 'perfect storm' here, because we have all these factors lining³ up," he said.

“北韩有点像置身于一场大风暴，因为我们面临这一系列的困难因素。”

The main factors are a dramatic spike⁴ in world food prices and the consequences of last year's severe North Korean flooding on harvests. De Margerie says prices for basic foods, like corn and grain, have at least doubled since last year.

主要因素是世界粮价大幅上涨，而北韩去年的水灾严重影响收成。马杰里说，像玉米和谷物之类的主要食品价格自从去年以来上涨了一倍。

North Korea has experienced food shortages because of decades of self-imposed economic isolation⁵, culminating in the mid-1990's, when hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are estimated to have died of starvation. The WFP says North Korea was able to meet about 80 percent of its basic survival food requirements, last year. De Margerie says, this year, the North will probably only produce about 60 percent of its basic needs.

北韩由于几十年来自行采取的经济封闭政策而一直粮食短缺，到上世纪90年代中期达到最严重的程度，据估计，当时有数十万北韩人死于饥荒。世界粮农组织说，去年，北韩的粮食生产能够满足维持基本生存所需要的80%。马杰里说，今年北韩的粮食产量可能只能满足60%左右的基本需求。

He says there are signs of severe strain on the North's Public Distribution System, or PDS - the government office responsible for providing food to citizens.

他说，有迹象显示，北韩的公共分配体系，也就是负责向民众提供粮食的政府部门的情况非常严重。

"Officials - government officials at the local, county, and provincial⁶ level, are telling us - maybe for the first time - that they're experiencing difficulties in ensuring that PDS dependents are receiving their rations⁷," de Margerie said. "And, they're telling us that there is a chance that they will have have to suspend PDS rations in the future. We've never heard this before."

马杰里说：“县级和省级的地方政府官员告诉我们，他们难以保证依靠公共分配体系的民众得到配给，他们这样说可能是前所未有的。他们还告诉我们，有可能不得不中断公共分配系统的配给。这也是我们闻所未闻的消息。”

The WFP is intensifying⁸ talks with donor⁹ nations who, according to de Margerie, are "asking a lot of questions" about North Korea's delays in nuclear weapons negotiations¹⁰ and recent bellicose¹¹ rhetoric¹² to the South.

世界粮农组织正在加紧与捐赠国的谈判，马杰里说，捐赠国针对北韩推延核武器谈判以及最近对韩国的舆论攻击提出了许多问题。

Last month, Pyongyang publicly threatened to turn South Korea "into ashes." The North has cut off most official contacts with the South, in disapproval¹³ over conservative President Lee Myung-bak's North Korea policies. The Lee administration says aid and economic cooperation with the South depends on the North fulfilling promises on nuclear disarmament.

平壤4月公开威胁要把韩国化为焦土，北韩还切断与韩国的大部分官方接触，以显示不赞同保守派的韩国总统李明博的北韩政策。李明博政府说，韩国向北韩提供的援助和经济合作取决于北韩是否信守解除核武装的承诺。

Since Mr. Lee's February inauguration¹⁴, the North has gone without the massive transfers of South Korean rice and fertilizer it had received for years under other administrations. De Margerie says, unless the North receives fertilizer soon, it may have to prepare for another bad harvest in the near future.

自从李明博2月就职以来，北韩就再也没有得到韩国的大批粮食和化肥支援，而以前的韩国政府曾提供这样的支援。马杰里说，除非北韩很快得到化肥援助，否则近期内将再次准备承受农业歉收。

"The thing is, is that we're running out of time," he said. "You know, this fertilizer needs to be applied¹⁵ on the field before the end of May. So, it's unlikely that they'll be able to meet this critical deadline."

他说，问题是我们现在时间急迫，因为必须在5月底之前给土地施肥。现在看来不大可能赶上这个关键性的农业季节。

The United States is preparing a donation of half a million tons of grain to North Korea this month, via the World Food Program.

美国准备4月通过世界粮农组织向北韩捐赠50万吨粮食。