美国国家公共电台 NPR 随着2022年的开始,大多数阿富汗人民没有足够的食物吃

As 2022 starts, most Afghans don't have enough food to eat

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

As 2022 begins, most people in Afghanistan don't have enough food. Millions are facing hunger and starvation amid a prolonged drought and economic crash following the Taliban takeover in August. NPR's Hannah Bloch reports from Islamabad.

HANNAH BLOCH, BYLINE¹: It's January, and for the overwhelming majority of Afghans, it's bleak².

SHELLEY THAKRAL: There's 98% of people who are just not getting access to food. So they're not having milk, they're not having dairy, they're not having meat because they can't afford it - probably less fresh vegetables, less fruit.

BLOCH: That's Shelley Thakral, the World Food Programme spokesperson for Afghanistan. More than half the population - some 23 million Afghans - are facing what the WFP calls extreme levels of hunger. Malnutrition³ is soaring. Afghanistan has seen hunger emergencies before, but Thakral says one thing that's different this time is...

THAKRAL: We're also seeing a new urban class of hungry people.

BLOCH: People who've lost their jobs and never imagined they'd go hungry are scrounging and standing⁴ in line for food aid.

THAKRAL: So we've been speaking to people who are - have - were schoolteachers or construction workers scavenging for whatever food that they can find.

BLOCH: Some Afghans have resorted to desperate measures, selling household goods, furniture, clothing - in some cases even selling their own children into early marriages. And then there's the winter snow.

THAKRAL: And when that layer of snow - it's brutal⁵, kind of bitter cold. So if you don't have money to buy food, you certainly don't have money to buy fuel or firewood to keep warm.

BLOCH: Which leaves people having to make a terrible choice between staying warm and keeping fed.

THAKRAL: You know, it shouldn't be a lottery⁶ of life about who gets to eat, who doesn't get to eat. How do I keep my child? Do I keep my child warm or do I give my child food?

BLOCH: The WFP is boosting its distribution of food rations⁷. Thakral says it needs $2.6 billion, or 220 million per month, to keep Afghans fed.

Hannah Bloch, NPR News, Islamabad.

(SOUNDBITE OF PHELIAN'S "INTRO")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

3 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

6 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

7 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。