VOA慢速英语 联合国:干旱令朝鲜削减口粮

AS IT IS 2015-07-15 UN: Drought Affected¹ North Korea Cuts Food Rations³ 联合国:干旱令朝鲜削减口粮

Officials at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization say North Korea has reduced the amount of food it gives to its people.

Cristina Coslet is the FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System officer for Far East Asia. Ms. Coslet spoke⁴ to VOA by telephone. She said North Korean officials told the FAO that food rations for July are 310 grams per person per day. That is a 25 percent decrease from June. The average food ration² between January and June 2015 was 410 grams daily. 

Ms. Coslet said a severe drought is affecting the country’s crop production. She said early planted crops - wheat, barley⁵, potato - decreased considerably⁶.

She said she expected this year’s production of potatoes and winter wheat to drop by more than 20 percent from last year. The FAO official said the early season harvest is a small but important food source for North Koreans.

In her words, “spring crops are vital for food security, being an important food source for the lean season, which stretches from May to September.”

Much still depends on the weather. Ms. Coslet said it is still too early to estimate the final harvest. Rainfall in the coming weeks is extremely important.

The United States said last week that it has not received a request from North Korea for food aid.

U.S. State Department official Katina Adams said, “The United States remains⁷ deeply concerned about the well-being⁸ of the North Korean people. North Korea has not requested United States assistance, and the U.S. has no plans to provide humanitarian⁹ assistance to North Korea at this time.”

The FAO says North Korea is having unusually dry weather this year, with rainfall well below average. The drought is drying up the country’s irrigation water supplies, including dams, wells and reservoirs.

Last month, North Korea’s official media admitted that the country has been hit with “the worst drought in 100 years,” adding that the lack of rain was “causing great damage” to the country’s agricultural fields.

Words in This Story

ration – n. a specific amount of something, usually food, officially provided during a time of shortage

drought – n. a period with very little or no rain, and extremely dry conditions

vital – adj. extremely important

lean – adj. thin, with little excess

irrigation – n. systems for, or the process of, bringing water to plants for agricultural purposes

reservoir – n. a usually human-made lake that is used to store a large supply of water for use in people's homes, businesses, etc.

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 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

3 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。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

6 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

7 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。

8 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

9 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。