2007年VOA标准英语-Locusts Hit Parts of Somalia

By Arjun Kohli
Nairobi
29 June 2007

In the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in Somalia, a swarm¹ of locusts³ has stripped fruit trees and crops, causing an agricultural emergency in a country already suffering acute food shortages. Arjun Kohli reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

Worried officials in the northeastern area of Puntland say locusts have already eaten their way through hundreds of hectares of farmland.

An unusually heavy rainfall in the Horn of Africa in recent weeks caused dormant⁴ eggs in the soil to hatch. The locust² swarm, which can number in the tens of millions, has reportedly devastated⁵ the Bari region's lush fruit orchards⁶, sending prices for mango, oranges, bananas, and other fruits skyrocketing in local markets.

Scientists from the Desert Locust Control Agency for Eastern Africa are working with the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization to combat the attack.

The FAO's coordinator⁷ for Somalia, Graham Farmer, tells VOA that he believes a particularly destructive species called the immature⁸ desert locust is to blame for the infestation⁹.

The FAO has reported simultaneous locust outbreaks in Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen, and Farmer says he fears the swarm could make its way as far as the Indian subcontinent.

"They go through different phases and then eventually they reach the phase where they can fly," said Farmer. "The conditions have been right for this to happen at this time. Depending on the way the wind blows, it can be Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, Sudan, Pakistan, India. So, [there is] very much the potential for a regional problem."

Puntland's agriculture ministry¹⁰ says it is powerless to stop the insects and has asked for international assistance.

Meanwhile, aid agencies say insecurity, frequent pirate attacks, and closed borders with Kenya are severely¹¹ hampering¹² efforts to deliver food and other supplies to Somalis suffering from conflict and drought in other parts of the country.

A man wounded in a explosion in Mogadishu is attended to by doctors of UN Ugandan peacekeepers, 28 Jun 2007

The deputy head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination¹³ of Humanitarian¹⁴ Affairs for Somalia, Matthew Olin, says Somalis in the war-torn capital, Mogadishu, has been the hardest hit.

"There has been an increase in attacks, attacks involving hand grenades and explosive devices," said Olin. "This is making it extremely hard for U.N. national staff and Somali NGOs and international NGOs through their national staff to provide assistance in Mogadishu. The situation in Mogadishu is poor and it has deteriorated¹⁵ in the last week."

A Somali worker for a Western aid agency and his driver were shot to death in Mogadishu late Wednesday in what appears to have been clan-related violence.

1 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

2 locust   

n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐

参考例句：

• A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
• This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。

3 locusts   

n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树

参考例句：

• a swarm of locusts 一大群蝗虫
• In no time the locusts came down and started eating everything. 很快蝗虫就飞落下来开始吃东西，什么都吃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

5 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

6 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

7 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？

8 immature   

adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的

参考例句：

• Tony seemed very shallow and immature.托尼看起来好像很肤浅，不夠成熟。
• The birds were in immature plumage.这些鸟儿羽翅未全。

9 infestation   

n.侵扰，蔓延

参考例句：

• The premises were treated for cockroach infestation.因蟑螂成灾，这些房屋集中进行了灭蟑活动。
• Parts of California are suffering from an infestation of oriental fruit flies.加利福尼亚的部分地区正遭受东方果蝇的大肆侵袭。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

12 hampering   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering growth. 因此在牛问题上和发展补助上的诈骗严重阻碍了发展。
• Short-termism, carbon-trading, disputing the science-are hampering the implementation of direct economically-led objectives. 短效主义，出售二氧化碳，进行科学辩论，这些都不利于实现以经济为主导的直接目标。

13 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。

14 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。

15 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。