2006年VOA标准英语-Pope Appeals for Shift of Resources to Combat W

By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
12 November 2006

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his Angelus prayer from his window, November 12, 2006

Pope Benedict  XVI urged the faithful to change their style of life and consumption to alleviate¹ world hunger. He urged a change in the global development model to confront hunger and the environmental and energy emergencies in the world. 

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Pope Benedict XVI lamented² that hundreds of millions of people in the world do not have enough to eat. He said it is a scandal, which must be combated by changes in style of life, consumption and fairer distribution of resources.

Speaking from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square, Benedict noted³ that the Rome-based U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization recently reported that more than 800 million people are undernourished, and that many people, especially children, die from hunger.

Certainly, the pope said, one needs to eliminate the structural⁴ causes tied to the system of governing the world's economy, which earmarks most of the planet's resources to a minority of the population.

Pope Benedict described the situation as an injustice⁵, and said that, to make an impact on a large scale, it is necessary to convert the model of global development. This is necessary, the pope added, not only to confront the scandal of hunger, but also the environmental and energy emergencies.

Every person and every family, the pope said, can and must do something to alleviate hunger in the world. They must adopt a style of life and consumption compatible with safeguarding creation and with the criteria⁶ of justice toward those who cultivate the land in every country.

Ten years after world leaders pledged to cut by half the number of hungry people in the world, almost no progress has been made. FAO says, in developing nations overall, hunger continues to rise.

1 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

2 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

5 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

6 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。