VOA标准英语2009年-Flooding Displaces Hundreds of Thousands i

Nearly 600,000 West Africans are affected¹ by floods, following three months of rain. The unusually heavy rainy season is expected to continue through the end of September.

The latest United Nations assessment² of West African flooding says more than 150 people have been killed - many in Sierra Leone - and that others there and in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Niger are also seriously affected by rising flood waters.
　
People displaced by flooding take refuge with their belongings³ at Sacre Coeur School in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 2 Sep 2009

Eight people are dead in Burkina Faso, where meteorologists say 263 millimeters of rain fell in just 12 hours, last week. That is one-quarter of the country's average annual rainfall. Half of the capital, Ouagadougou, is affected by flooding that has damaged the university hospital.

Yvon Edoumou is the West Africa spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination⁴ of Humanitarian⁵ Affairs.

"The hospital was one of the main hospitals in Ouagadougou where thousands of people were treated each day," Edoumou said. "So clearly that is a major concern for us. If you think in terms of just basic health services or even more acute health conditions, there is a fear that people who were there at the time of the flooding are not getting the treatment that they should be."

More than 150,000 people in Burkina Faso are homeless - many now living in schools and community centers. Those facilities are so overcrowded that men are sleeping outside, exposed to malarial⁷ mosquitoes breeding in standing⁸ water.

"Anytime anyone is sleeping outside, particularly in West Africa which is very well known for its malaria⁶, you are clearly exposing yourself to that disease and other diseases," Edoumou said. "If you add the fact that there is water all over the city, then the risks are even higher. Now, the reason we have women and children sleeping inside is because we consider them to be the most vulnerable."

In Senegal, the new U.N. assessment says more than 260,000 people are affected by weeks of heavy rain, most living in poor neighborhoods built on lowlands outside the capital, Dakar.

Returning from a month's holiday in Europe, President Abdoulaye Wade⁹ says he sympathizes with the suffering of those whose homes are flooded but says this year's rains are a mixed blessing¹⁰ as they will lead to bigger harvests that will make Senegal nearly food self-sufficient.

Elsewhere, farmers have not fared as well. In Niger, the city of Agadez lost close to 400 hectares of land used for farming and cattle.

Edoumou says the rains may worsen food insecurity in West Africa, especially in Sahelian countries where small-scale farmers have few reserves.

"When you have a situation like this occur, you are bound to have a situation down the line where there could be a shortage in food, which can also trigger other negative situations, such as malnutrition¹¹, for example, or insufficient¹² food for cattle, which is also another important economic sector¹³ in West Africa," Edoumou said.

Two years ago, flooding in West Africa killed 300 people and affected more than 800,000 others. Rains are expected to continue throughout the region until the end of the month.

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 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 malarial   

患疟疾的，毒气的

参考例句：

• Malarial poison had sallowed his skin. 疟疾病毒使他皮肤成灰黄色。
• Standing water like this gives malarial mosquitoes the perfect place to breed. 像这样的死水给了传染疟疾的蚊子绝佳的繁殖地点。

8 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。

9 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

10 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

11 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

12 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

13 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。