VOA标准英语2012--Twin Crises Converge on Burkina Faso

 

Twin Crises Converge¹ on Burkina Faso

In northern Burkina Faso, near the Malian border, thousands of refugees have settled here in Mentao Camp, including Basséta Waleta Sidi and her family.

"We fled the violence and the killing² in Mali. We are safe now, but the future is uncertain," said Sidi.

Aid organizations are supplying food and medical attention. But Sidi, who has one child and is seven months pregnant with another, is worried about malnutrition³.

"All we eat here is rice and oil, which we are not used to," added Sidi. "And the amount is not enough, even for one child."

Not far away in Djibo, local communities don't have enough to eat either. Burkinabé women come to this Red Cross distribution center to receive rations⁴, while more urgent cases head to the medical post.

Nurse Rosaire Toe says the influx⁵ of refugees has put new strain on relief efforts.

"That worries us because we have a considerable amount of malnutrition already because of the famine," Rosaire noted⁶.

The international community is not calling the food crisis a famine, but realizes Burkina Faso is at a critical juncture⁷.

United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian⁸ Affairs Valerie Amos visited the area in late May, to draw attention to the twin crises.

"Part of what we're trying to do is to make sure that people realize that this is something that we have to work on now, otherwise it will get much worse," Amos explained.

Though the rains have started to fall in northern Burkina Faso, the next harvest is more than three months away. And with continued insecurity in northern Mali, its refugees will not likely return home anytime soon. 

1 converge   

vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近

参考例句：

• The results converge towards this truth.其结果趋近于这个真理。
• Parallel lines converge at infinity.平行线永不相交。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 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。

4 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

5 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 juncture   

n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头

参考例句：

• The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
• It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。

8 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。