VOA标准英语2009年-Red Cross, Meteorologists to Improve Africa Dis

The international Red Cross has signed an agreement with an African meteorology organization, hoping to better predict and respond to disasters caused by climate change.

A cooperation pact¹ signed Monday in Dakar will give the Red Cross inside access to weather prediction and data produced by the African Center for Meteorological Application in Development.

The agreement will allow cooperation between organizations with complementary expertise² and know-how³, says ACMAD director general Alhassane Diallo.

Meteorologist Diallo says climate change will continue, and likely will happen faster in coming years. He says Africa is sure to be further effected and Africans can expect worsening and more frequent droughts and floods.

The organizations say the partnership⁴ is encouraging, because together they can predict problems and help alleviate⁵ them. Diallo called the effort a "work of pioneers."

The Red Cross plans to use the data to better predict and respond to disasters caused by the planet's changing climate, says Regional Disaster Response Coordinator⁶ Youcef Ait-Challouche.

Changing climate brings increasing challenges in Africa
　
Tariken Lakam, 6, waits for food aid in Ethiopian town of Shashamane; Ethiopia in endless cycles of drought, poverty and hunger (File)

Challouche says Africa has already seen an increased number of disasters spurred by climate change. He says floods, droughts, and epidemics⁷ are all increasing on the continent, and the need to better prepare beforehand is driving the coordination⁸ with meteorologists.

The consequences of climate change for Africans will continue to be far reaching, Challouche says. He pointed⁹ to the disruption of traditional planting patterns and calendars, and resulting population movements, as recent and significant problems spurred by climate change.

Challouche emphasized data provided by the meteorologists will allow the Red Cross to plan their activities based on probabilities, rather than possibilities. The organization plans to undertake food security programs in areas where the data suggests vulnerability to future climate-related disasters.

The Red Cross and international community are interested in helping¹⁰ Africans cope with climate change out of fairness, Challouche says. While Africa is estimated to have produced about two percent of the carbon dioxide emissions¹¹ that lead to global warming, experts say the continent will bear the brunt of a disproportional amount of disasters resulting from climate change.

1 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

2 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

3 know-how   

n.知识；技术；诀窍

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
• I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 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。

6 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？

7 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

8 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。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 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。

11 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。