VOA标准英语2012--Dump Provides Livelihood, Brings Perils to Nairobi Poor

 

Dump Provides Livelihood¹, Brings Perils² to Nairobi Poor

Sixteen-year-old Joseph is one of the many children working at the Dandora dump site. He has been here since January, when he left school because his family could not afford his school fees.

He’s lucky if he makes 200 shillings, or about $2.40, per day from the items he finds to resell.

"Yeah, it is difficult, but we have no other ways. We live here because [we have] nowhere else to go," he said.

People eat food directly from the dump, as well as reselling it to residents of nearby slums.

"Because it has food, and people get their livings. Before stealing, they come here, they eat, they go home," said Joseph.

Although it provides short-term satiation, this food poses many health risks - in part because of the hazardous³ materials with which it comes into contact.

James Bhuop operates a rehabilitation⁴ center near Dandora to encourage children to stay in school instead of scavenging and doing drugs.

"The dump site, even there are some pigs which are walking around there, dogs are being thrown there, even things coming from hospitals… because that is the area where everything inside Nairobi is being thrown there. So it is very dangerous place," said Bhuop.

The U.N. Environment Program conducted a study of the dumpsite in 2007. It found that workers are exposed to a toxic⁵ mix of plastic, rubber, lead paint-treated wood, and even some chemical and hospital waste.

"So it generally affects them," says Dr. Njoroge Kimani, the principal investigator⁶ for the study. "Whether from bacterial⁷ infections, whether from parasitic⁸ infections, whether from environmental toxicants, it does affect them in a big way." 

These problems are particularly detrimental⁹ for children, who dig through this sludge without proper hand or foot protection.

"These kids, their systems are still developing. So the long-term effect of this exposure starts taking shape right from the time they are young. Which is the biggest problem," said Kimani.

Because the Nairobi River flows by the dumpsite, and is used to irrigate¹⁰ crops, it’s not just the scavengers who are harmed.

"There’s a lot of vegetables being grown there. And these vegetables end up in markets, various markets, sensitive spots around Nairobi, which people buy without knowing where it has come from," said Erick Wilson, the acting¹¹ chairman for Folks Vision Kenya, a group helping¹² young people in Dandora.

If the City Council goes through with plans to move the dump, Nairobians hope that better regulations and procedures are put into place this time

But for Joseph and so many others who depend on the dump for their livelihoods¹³, they'd rather it stay here.

1 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

2 perils   

极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）

参考例句：

• The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
• With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？

3 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

4 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

5 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

6 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

7 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

8 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。

9 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

10 irrigate   

vt.灌溉，修水利，冲洗伤口，使潮湿

参考例句：

• The farmer dug several trenches to irrigate the rice fields.这个农民挖了好几条沟以灌溉稻田。
• They have built canals to irrigate the desert.他们建造成水渠以灌溉沙漠。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 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。

13 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。