2006年VOA标准英语-Cholera Deaths Rising in Harare

By Peta Thornycroft
Harare
17 February 2006
 
 
Martin Mhizha fetches water from an unprotected water source in Epworth, Zimbabwe
  
In Zimbabwe's capital Harare, for the first time in most people's memory people are dying of cholera¹.  There have been about 30 deaths from cholera this summer season, five of them in the last week.

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If there was a competition for the worst sewage problem in Harare, a suburb called Dvaraskewa, about 12 kilometers west of the city, would be a contender.

Even after several days of hot sunshine and no rain there are sewage puddles² all over the township. Storm drains are blocked and sewage is seeping³ into every road and path.

The smell in Dvaraskewa is unbearable⁴ in some parts. In others the smell is less pungent⁵, but nowhere throughout the suburb of about 3,000 houses and a population of about 200,000 does the air smell clean, or even neutral.

The situation grew worse following the governments campaign of urban renewal⁶ that it called "Clean out the Trash," or Operation Murambatsvina in the majority Shona language. The United Nations said more than 700,000 urban residents were left homeless when bulldozers crushed small homes in May and June last year.

In Dvarasekwa, the remains⁷ of Operation Murambatsvina are everywhere. There are broken sewer⁸ pipes everywhere, along with piles of smashed bricks and broken pieces of concrete, the remains of tiny make shift shelters.

The overcrowding in existing semi detached dwellings⁹ is now more intense because people whose homes were torn down are now living with others, sharing everything, including the disintegrating¹⁰ sewage system.

Edmore Mutenje, is an activist¹¹ for a local residents association who lives iin Dvaraskewa.

"The sewage is all over the area, everywhere we have got the sewage. Every road has got a sewer burst," he said.

He added that garbage had not been collected from the suburb for more than six months.

Precious Shumba, from the Combined Harare Residents Association blames the Harare local government. He says city officials who were elected on the opposition¹² Movement for Democratic Change ticket in 2002 have all been sacked by the government and have been replaced with people loyal to the ruling Zanu PF. He said there is now an illegal administration running the city, which does not care about public health.

"These people were originally affected¹³ by Operation Murambatsvina," he noted¹⁴.  "After that operation sewer pipes also collapsed¹⁵ and as we speak right now, these people near the poly clinic are living facing flowing sewage in their homes, and two children are sick with cholera. The children are sick with cholera and they can't afford to take them to the clinic. The situation is desperate, and the City of Harare must act to ensure there is a clean environment for residents. The real situation is the City of Harare is arrogant¹⁶ and negligent¹⁷."

At least two sick children in one home where sewage runs past the back door were unable to walk or talk Friday, lying in a clean but stinking¹⁸ home. Their mother said she did not have money to take them to the government clinic for treatment.

Health officials at the local government office in central Harare were not available for comment.

Private doctors say that previous cases of cholera in the city came from neighboring states, or from outlying rural areas. They say cholera in Harare is now homegrown.

1 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

2 puddles   

n.水坑， （尤指道路上的）雨水坑( puddle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水汇流成了一条小溪。
• The road was filled with puddles from the rain. 雨后路面到处是一坑坑的积水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 seeping   

v.（液体）渗( seep的现在分词 )；渗透；渗出；漏出

参考例句：

• Water had been slowly seeping away from the pond. 池塘里的水一直在慢慢渗漏。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Chueh-hui could feel the cold seeping into his bones. 觉慧开始觉得寒气透过衣服浸到身上来了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

4 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

5 pungent   

adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a pungent style.文章写得泼辣。
• Its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts.它的刺激性气味会令恐怖分子窒息，迫使他们从藏身地点逃脱出来。

6 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

9 dwellings   

n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
• The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 disintegrating   

v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• As a poetic version of a disintegrating world, this one pleased him. 作为世界崩溃论在文学上的表现，他非常喜欢这个学说。 来自辞典例句
• Soil animals increase the speed of litter breakdown by disintegrating tissue. 土壤动物通过分解组织，加速落叶层降解的速度。 来自辞典例句

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 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。

14 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。

15 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

16 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

17 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

18 stinking   

adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透

参考例句：

• I was pushed into a filthy, stinking room. 我被推进一间又脏又臭的屋子里。
• Those lousy, stinking ships. It was them that destroyed us. 是的！就是那些该死的蠢猪似的臭飞船！是它们毁了我们。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻