VOA标准英语2013--隧道关闭冲击加沙地带的农民

 

Tunnel Closures Hit Gaza Farmers 隧道关闭冲击加沙地带的农民

GAZA STRIP — An offensive by Egypt’s new government against militants¹  in the Sinai Peninsula has destroyed most of the smuggling² tunnels to  Gaza. The resulting job losses and shortages of agricultural supplies  are squeezing the livelihoods³ of local farmers.

Mohamed Shamalak and his family have farmed this one-hectare plot of  land for three generations. It used to yield dozens of crates⁴ of  peppers, cucumbers and lettuce⁵ each season.

Its location on a major highway running almost the entire length of  Gaza provided a steady stream of customers. That is not the case today,  though.

"The people are tired [poor]. I've just picked two boxes [about 20 kg]  of cucumbers, and since this morning I've sold only one kilo. People  find them too expensive. Everything is costly," said Shamalak.

Since the Egyptian government destroyed the smuggling tunnels into Gaza  and restricted access to the Rafah Crossing, said Shamalak, prices for  fertilizer have skyrocketed. This aggravated⁶ a six-year blockade by  Israel. The Egyptian government says militants were using the tunnels  to stage attacks in the Sinai Peninsula.

Many Gazans doubt this. They think Egypt’s new leaders are trying to  undermine the governing Hamas movement, which supported deposed⁷  Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood⁸.

Shamalak says many more Gazans are out of work now. He has had to lower  his prices and is barely breaking even.

"The solution is for things to return like they were, open the  Crossing, re-open the tunnels, so that all the workers can return to  their jobs," said Shamalak.

That does not appear likely under the new government in Cairo. So all  farmers can do is try to hold on and hope things eventually change. 

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

3 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。

4 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

5 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

6 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

7 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。