VOA标准英语2013--Syrians Ferry Needed Goods From Iraq

 

Syrians Ferry Needed Goods From Iraq

Syrian men, bent¹ double under the weight of their sacks, begin the four-hour trek² from Iraqi Kurdistan back to Syria.

Every day more than 3,000 men make this journey into northern Iraq to get essentials such as food and gasoline for their families back home.

Ali Muhammad Bedawi, 22, made a trip from Aleppo for macaroni and diapers. The journey took 14 hours.

"There's no bread. There's no food. There's no gas. No fuel," he said. "People are starving."

Only a very few see this as a business opportunity. A liter of gasoline purchased in Iraq for one dollar will sell in Syria for a mere³ 50-cent markup⁴.

"We don't sell the kerosene⁵ because we need at home," said fuel vendor⁶ Hussam Moussa. "We only sell the gasoline."

The unofficial crossing has been opened by the semi-autonomous Kurdish government in northern Iraq without the permission of the central government in Baghdad.

Kurdish officials say their own history of suffering gives them responsibility to help Syrian Kurds.

"The Kurds of Iraq have taken lessons and have gone through those stages of history and I think that both the public itself and the administration itself in the KRG feel that it is a responsibility to act and to support and to provide assistance because we went through and we know how tough and how difficult it is," said Dr. Dindar Zebari, who is with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations.

As the sun begins to set, a few remaining stragglers rush to leave Iraq. And with the conflict in Syria showing little signs of ending, cross-border traffic is unlikely to ease. 

1 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

2 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

3 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

4 markup   

n.加价，涨价，利润

参考例句：

• This mean that international delivery will line markup from today.这意味着国际快递将从今天起全线涨价。
• Our products are expensive,and distributors and retailers always want a large markup.我们的产品很贵，经销商和零售商总是要求高额利差。

5 kerosene   

n.(kerosine)煤油，火油

参考例句：

• It is like putting out a fire with kerosene.这就像用煤油灭火。
• Instead of electricity,there were kerosene lanterns.没有电，有煤油灯。

6 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。