VOA标准英语2009年-West Africans Displaced by Flooding

Heavy rains in West Africa have affected¹ more than 350,000 people. Our correspondent reports, flooding has killed at least 32 people in Ghana and Burkina Faso.
　
View of the flooded streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 01 Sep 2009

More than 150,000 people have left their homes in Burkina Faso, many in the capital Ouagadougou, where the United Nations says the amount of rain that fell in one day last week equals one-quarter of the nation's average annual rainfall.

These are the heaviest rains in 90 years in Burkina Faso, and at least seven people have been killed. The capital's main hospital is badly flooded, electricity is cut, and two dams and 12 bridges are damaged.

Prime Minister Tertius Zongo is appealing for more than $150 million to drain flood waters, repair road damage, pay for humanitarian² assistance and develop a better disaster-response system.

At least 25 people have been killed by flooding in Ghana, where the local Red Cross society is helping³ vulnerable families with tarps, blankets, kitchen sets, sleeping mats, soap, and jerry cans.

Unusually heavy rains are also affecting people in Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Mali, Liberia, and Gambia.

In Niger, 400 hectares of farmland are underwater and 3,500 homes have been partially⁴ destroyed. Twenty-thousand people are affected in Benin.

In Guinea, 6,000 people are affected by flooding in the capital Conakry and 10,000 people in the city of Kindia, where three rivers have overflowed⁵ their banks. Seven people died in mudslides and floods in Sierra Leone last month.

Thirty-thousand homes in Senegal are flooded, most on the outskirts⁶ of the capital, Dakar. That flooding and persistent⁷ power cuts sparked riots in the Pikine neighborhood where people barricaded⁸ roads with burned tires and smashed the windows of a police vehicle.

Damage to crop land increases food insecurity. Rising flood waters raise the incidence of malaria⁹ and diarrheal disease. Heavy rains are forecast through the end of September.

Flooding in West Africa two years ago killed 300 people and displaced more than 800,000.

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 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。

3 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。

4 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

5 overflowed   

溢出的

参考例句：

• Plates overflowed with party food. 聚会上的食物碟满盘盈。
• A great throng packed out the theater and overflowed into the corridors. 一大群人坐满剧院并且还有人涌到了走廊上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

7 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

8 barricaded   

设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守

参考例句：

• The police barricaded the entrance. 警方在入口处设置了路障。
• The doors had been barricaded. 门都被堵住了。

9 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。