2007年VOA标准英语-Thousands Displaced by Floods in Mozambique

By Scott Bobb
Chupanga, Central Mozambique
21 March 2007
 
watch Mozambique Schools

In central Mozambique 140,000 people have lost their homes due to flooding that has also destroyed more than 100 schools. Relief workers are scrambling¹ to provide food, shelter and health services to these people whose numbers continue to grow. Correspondent Scott Bobb has been in the region and has this report on one other aspect of the relief effort -- providing schools for the displaced children.

Temporary schools are helping2 displaced children

School is open in Chupanga, a camp for people who lost their homes due to the floods along the Zambezi River Basin. Classes have started for more than 700 primary school children.

Local officials have opened temporary classrooms using tents and materials supplied by UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.

Chupanga Camp is home to more than 8,000 displaced people. It is the largest camp in the region.  The children receive clothes, schoolbooks and school kits³ with pencils and copy books.

Luisa Antonio Charanda teaches Portuguese⁴, math, music and physical education. She teaches a morning and an afternoon class, each with more than 150 students. She says the children's health is not very good. "Many are sick. When they get here they have to go to the hospital. Many children have coughs. Many are suffering."

Lisa Doherty is UNICEF's Education Coordinator⁵. She says, after a disaster, children are often confused and disjointed. At the same time they receive little attention from the adults who are busy trying to cope with the crisis.

"It's very important that they can resume school as quickly as possible, that they are in a structured environment where they are with their friends, their peers, also teachers who can look after them and protect them in a safer environment such as a school, if it's still functioning, or a temporary learning space (such as we've created in some of the camps here)."

The district education director, Vasco Zakarias, praises the relief agencies, but he says more help is needed in order to enroll⁶ hundreds of other children who still are not in school. He expects the crisis to last for months.

"I think the whole first trimester will be like this. Maybe when we get to the second trimester, the waters will have gone down, maybe then they can go back," hopes Zakarias.

Many of these children lived on islands in the river and have never been to school. Relief workers are going tent-to-tent urging parents to take advantage of the situation and educate their kids.

1 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

4 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

5 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？

6 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。