2006年VOA标准英语-UN Seeking $1.8 Billion for Sudan

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
14 December 2006

The United Nations says Sudan will need more than $1.8 billion to fund humanitarian¹ recovery and development projects next year.   Operations in Sudan represent more than half of the $3.7 billion the U.N. appealed for humanitarian assistance worldwide in 2007.   Lisa Schlein has more from Geneva.

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A young refugee child stares from a makeshift camp set up by villagers forced from their home in the latest cycle of ethnic violence that has spilled over from Sudan's neighboring Darfur province to eastern Chad

The lion's share of the money will go toward the ongoing³ humanitarian operation in Sudan's conflict-ridden province of Darfur.  Nearly four million people have been affected⁴ by the war that broke out in 2003 between the Sudan-backed Janjaweed Arab militia⁵ and rebel groups.  About 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million made homeless.

Manuel Aranda da Silva is deputy special representative to the secretary-general.  He calls Darfur a very dangerous place.  He says humanitarian operations are hampered⁶ by banditry and bureaucratic⁷ impediments.  He says rebels and criminals regularly hijack⁸ aid workers trucks and loot their provisions.

He says the government has not provided enough security and aid workers have difficulty receiving visas or permits to work there.

Despite all these problems, da Silva says the hundreds of millions of dollars the international community has spent in Darfur has had a positive impact.

"The malnutrition⁹ rates in Darfur are below 15 percent and that is considered not an emergency threshold," he said.  "And, the mortality rates are very low.  Now, this is happening because a massive humanitarian operation is there.  And, of course, if you unplug that, things will go back to 2003.  I have no doubt about it, but that is positive that that effort was not useless.  Hundreds of thousands of people did not die." 

The United Nations other big project is to rebuild and develop southern Sudan so people who fled the country's long-running civil war will go home.  Since a peace agreement was signed between the government and Sudan People's Liberation Army in January 2005, about one million refugees and internally displaced people have returned home.  The U.N. expects another 600,000 to go back next year.

Southern Sudan's infrastructure¹⁰ was shattered during the war.  Much of the money in the U.N. appeal will go toward rebuilding.  U.N. Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator¹¹ in Sudan, David Gressly, says the government of southern Sudan is rebuilding the roads in its capital, Juba.

"That construction has already started," he noted¹².  "I live right beside the construction, so I can witness to that.  So, that is in progress.  Replacing the power grid¹³ in Juba-that also is well under way.  They are replacing the generating capacity of electricity in Juba.    Those generators¹⁴ have arrived and will be switched on, I understand, very soon and they will be moving on to water and sanitation¹⁵ systems in the town." 

Gressly says southern Sudan has practically no paved roads and work on building a network of roads is under way.  He says many roads have been de-mined, so aid agencies can safely deliver goods and schools and health clinics are being rebuilt.

The United Nations says all these projects are needed to consolidate¹⁶ the peace.

1 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。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 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。

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 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

6 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

7 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

8 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

9 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。

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

11 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

12 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。

13 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

14 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

16 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。