Ivorian Refugees Threatened By Disease Outbreaks

    The UN Children's Fund warns thousands of Ivorian refugees（难民,逃难者）, who have fled to Liberia, are threatened by disease outbreaks.  UNICEF says cramped¹ living conditions are increasing health and protection risks for children and women.
    The United Nations reports more than 36,300 Ivorian refugees have fled to Liberia, 85 percent are children and women. The UN Children’s Fund says communities along the border with the Ivory Coast are sheltering most asylum(庇护,收容所) seekers.
    UNICEF says local inhabitants are very welcoming to the refugees. But, it notes Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world, with more than 80 percent of the population living on less than $1.25 a day.
    And this, says UNICEF spokeswoman, Marixie Mercado, limits the ability of these poor communities to care for themselves and the refugees.  She says their coping mechanisms² are being stretched to the limit.
    “In some communities, especially those closest to the border, refugees far outnumber local inhabitants, and residents say they cannot absorb more refugees.  Severe food shortages and inadequate³ shelter aggravate⁴ protection risks for children and women, and the threat of disease outbreak remains⁵ one of the most pressing humanitarian⁶ concerns,” Mercado said. “For the majority of refugees and local inhabitants, the nearest health facility is a good four-hour walk away through mud paths and dense⁷ forest.”
    UNICEF spokeswoman Mercado, who recently returned from Liberia, says the overcrowded conditions of the communities are increasing the health and protection risks.
    She says in some villages as many as 30 people may be living in one small dwelling⁸.  In many cases, she notes, women and children are sleeping out in the bush.
    “There have been a few cases of sexual and gender-based violence reported-very, very few.  Many of the victims are unwilling⁹ to come forward.  But, there have been very few cases thus far.  But, these conditions of shelter definitely aggravate risks for women and children…The shortages of food means that-for example, children are criss-crossing the border. There are reports of children working as porters, carrying loads,” she said.
    Mercado says the shortage of food among the residents and refugees aggravates¹⁰ risks for everybody.  She notes local inhabitants say they have used up their food stocks until May.
    UNICEF is providing the refugees with safe water and sanitation¹¹.  It is conducting special therapeutic¹² feeding for severely¹³ malnourished children and recently supported a Ministry¹⁴ of Health-led campaign to immunize 150,000 children-both refugees and Liberians--against measles¹⁵.
    Mercado says this was in response to a measles outbreak that has killed five Liberian children in Nimba County, where 97 percent of the refugees are hosted.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

2 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

4 aggravate   

vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火

参考例句：

• Threats will only aggravate her.恐吓只能激怒她。
• He would only aggravate the injury by rubbing it.他揉擦伤口只会使伤势加重。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 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。

7 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

8 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

9 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

10 aggravates   

使恶化( aggravate的第三人称单数 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravates me any more I shall punish him. 如果他再惹我生气，我就要惩罚他。
• Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each pther. 没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。

11 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

12 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

13 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

14 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

15 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。