2006年VOA标准英语-Aid Sought for Drought Victims in Horn of

By Catherine Maddux
Washington
19 April 2006

Pastoralists report increasing number of livestock¹ dying due to worsening drought conditions in parts of Somali region  
  
Earlier this month, the United Nations appealed for over $400 million for victims of drought in the Horn of Africa. Dry weather has put an estimated 12 million people at risk of severe food shortages. The aid group, Islamic Relief, has many years experience dealing² with drought in the region, and the group's founder³ says this latest drought has far-reaching consequences.

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The founder and president of Islamic Relief, Hany Abdel Gawad El Banna, traveled to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa region this past March. At a recent seminar in Washington, he described a scene he witnessed, which he said illustrates⁴ just how dire⁵ the situation is.

"It is very serious when you see the camel dying," he explained. "The camel, as you know, is the hardest animal to die. And I was nearly crying when I saw one of those camels [that] cannot stand up on its feet, and he was making a very, very deep -- the noise of agony. It's like an old man who lived in agony because of his sickness and suffering, because there is no means of living for him."

Hany says this scene, repeated throughout the region, makes clear why the current drought is a calamity⁶ for ordinary Africans. That is because people in villages throughout the Horn rely almost solely⁷ on their livestock to make a living, and these animals are dying of thirst and hunger.

Mr. Hany says what he learned during his trip was that, above all else, people, especially in hard hit Somalia, need clean water.

"There's no means of life in this area," he added. "Water there is infested⁸, their drinking water. We went to an area in north of Kenya. We visited a river bed, which was dry. And we looked at one of these wells. And when you get the water from this well, it is infested with worms. "

The drought has resulted in the worst harvest in Somalia in a decade. For Somalia alone, the United Nations has asked for more than $300 million to fund food aid and water programs.

During his March assessment⁹ trip, Hany of Islamic Relief traveled to Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Somalia, where the organization has recently opened a field office.

The independent, non-governmental organization was created in 1984, and, since then, has tried to alleviate¹⁰ the suffering of the world's poorest people, regardless of race, religion or gender¹¹.

Hany says his motivation comes from a sense of personal guilt¹² that Africans are suffering unnecessarily, and from a strongly held belief that the international community must put an end to it. He recalled the efforts 20 years ago of activist¹³ rock stars, such as Bob Geldof, to raise awareness¹⁴ about Africa with massive concerts, and fundraising drives.

"You talk about the agony of Africa, which we thought one day we were going to have an end to it in the era of Sir Bob Geldof in 1983 and 1984 -- the famine," he said. "The Live Aid and the Band Aid [concerts]. But 20 years after the Bob Geldof era, we're still having the same problem coming again, and Africa is not as good as it was 20 years ago unfortunately."

Despite that bleak¹⁵ assessment, Hany says Islamic Relief remains¹⁶ committed to long-term development in the hardest-hit African nations to empower people, to enable them to sustain themselves. And he called on African governments and the international community to get on board, by working to end corruption¹⁷, offering debt relief to the poorest of nations and by donating much needed money to help put effective programs in place.

1 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

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。

6 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

7 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

8 infested   

adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于

参考例句：

• The kitchen was infested with ants. 厨房里到处是蚂蚁。
• The apartments were infested with rats and roaches. 公寓里面到处都是老鼠和蟑螂。

9 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

10 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。

11 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

12 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

13 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。

14 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

15 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

16 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。

17 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。