2007年VOA标准英语-Relief Workers Struggle to Help Thousands Displ

By Scott Bobb
Caia, Central Mozambique
14 March 2007

For weeks, relief officials have been trying to cope with a human disaster caused by flooding in central Mozambique's Zambezi River basin.  The floods have destroyed the homes and crops of more than 140,000 people.  Correspondent Scott Bobb visited the region and reports that after the initial rescue operations the situation is stabilizing².  But he says more people are arriving in the camps every day.

 
Woman walks by a water truck at Chupanga camp
The people displaced by the worst floods in six years have gathered in 90 camps scattered³ over four provinces in central Mozambique.

The largest camp, with more than 8,000 people, is located near the village of Chupanga, about 100 kilometers up the Zambezi River from the Indian Ocean.

The women pound grain in mortars⁴ as at home, only here they are surrounded by rows of white tents and straw shelters covered with blue plastic sheets.

Residents who are registered receive a ration¹ of (mealie) maize⁵ - the staple⁶ here - as well as lentil beans and cooking oil.  Sometimes there are other goods, like salt and soap.

 
Students in tent classrooms
School is resuming inside three large tents.  More than 700 primary schoolchildren are attending classes in these temporary classrooms donated by UNICEF, the U.N. children's fund. They also receive school materials, books and some clothes.

Officials say it is important for the children to regain⁷ some order in their lives.  But many children are not enrolled⁸.  Some from isolated⁹ areas and have never been to school.

Nearby, under two tents, the Red Cross has set up a health unit that treats nearly 200 people a day.  They give immunizations that are vital to control outbreaks of disease.  So far they have managed to prevent cholera¹⁰, but malaria¹¹, bronchitis and diarrhea are common.

Medical workers say many children have no vaccination¹² cards, which means they have never had access to the health care system.

The chief medical officer is Caetano Antonio Nota, a nurse practitioner¹³.  He says that besides trying to cure the sick his team also tries to educate people about good hygiene¹⁴ and health care.

"We want to take advantage of this large gathering¹⁵ of people to send out our message that whenever they go back to their homes, they should respect these basic health principles," Nota says.

The center of the relief efforts is located in Caia, the provincial¹⁶ capital of Sofala.

 
Alex Claudon
Red Cross Coordinator¹⁷ Alex Claudon is standing¹⁸ in the sun on Caia's airstrip.  He is overseeing the loading of medical supplies for a camp of displaced people that has been isolated by the floods.  He says many flood victims still have received no help.

"We know that it is going to rain more.  We know that those people are without shelter," Claudon says.  'And this is why we run this quite expensive air operation."

The relief groups meet every evening at the government's disaster coordination¹⁹ agency, the INGC (Instituto Nacional de Gestao de Calamidades), located in a two-room cement building on one end of Caia's main road.

INGC Deputy-Director Joao Ribeiro says the government wants to relocate displaced people to places where there are schools and health clinics.

"We hope to resettle these people in permanent areas in higher zones," Ribeiro says.  "We know that the more productive land lies in the lower zones and the land in the higher zones is less productive. So we have to consider building dikes and irrigation systems."

But he says the government does not have the funds for such projects and will need help.

International donors²⁰ say they will consider helping²¹ with resettlement if all parties agree to it.  But in the meantime they are focused on supporting the victims for at least six more months until they can plant and harvest new crops, hoping all the while that new rains do not aggravate²² their already considerable task.

1 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

2 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

3 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

4 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

5 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

6 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

7 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

8 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

10 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。

11 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

12 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

13 practitioner   

n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者

参考例句：

• He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
• She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。

14 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

15 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

16 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

17 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？

18 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

19 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

20 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

22 aggravate   

vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火

参考例句：

• Threats will only aggravate her.恐吓只能激怒她。
• He would only aggravate the injury by rubbing it.他揉擦伤口只会使伤势加重。