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31 干旱威胁亚洲北部
Drought Threatens Northern Asia
Alisha Ryu
Hong Kong
15 Jun 2001 12:40 UTC
In northern Asia, one of the worst 1)droughts in recent memory is 2)threatening crops, 3)livestock and economies. A severe drought in North Korea is raising fresh fears of a serious food crisis in the already 4)impoverished communist country.
A vast area from northwestern China, across Mongolia to the Korean 5)peninsula has had little or no rain for the past three months with little relief in sight.
In South Korea, the current drought is the worst in almost nine 6)decades. Serious water shortages have shut down some factories in several cities and rice farmers in the worst-hit areas say they may not be able to plant any crops at all. Earlier this week, the government sent more than 110,000 soldiers to the countryside to help desperate farmers pour water into their 7)parched rice 8)paddies.
The situation is even more dire in North Korea. Aid organizations say the communist country is facing the worst food crisis since floods and droughts three years ago helped the poverty-stricken nation 9)plunge into 10)famine. Kathy Zellweger is an aid worker for Caritas in Hong Kong. "The winter wheat, barley, and early potatos have been badly affected," she said. "Even if it rains within the next few days, experts believe that the harvest of these crops will only be about 50 percent. If it doesn't rain, all will be lost."
In Mongolia, thousands of 11)nomadic families still reeling from devastating snowstorms earlier this year are 12)migrating into poor, already-crowded cities. Many say they had no choice after vicious dry sandstorms killed off their surviving livestock, leaving them little to eat.
Dry weather is also affecting tens of millions of people and animals in six northern provinces of China. The longest drought there since 1990 has already damaged millions of hectares of crops. There are now concerns that some 300,000 hectares of vital farmland will not produce a harvest this year.
If that crisis were not enough of a problem for worried farmers, Chinese officials are warning that the drought could be quickly followed by 13)plagues of locusts.
(1) drought[draJt]n.干旱, 缺乏
(2) threaten[5Wret(E)n]vt.恐吓, 威胁, 预示(危险)
(3) livestock[`laIvstCk]n.家畜, 牲畜
(4) impoverished[Im`pCvErIFt]adj.穷困的, 无力的,用尽了的
(5) peninsula[pI`nInsjJlE;-sE-]n.半岛
(6) decade[5dekeId]n.十年, 十
(7) parched[pB:tFt]adj.炎热的
(8) paddy[`pAdI]n.稻, 谷
(9) plunge into v.投入, 跳入
(10) famine[5fAmIn]n.饥荒
(11) nomadic adj.游牧的
(12) migrate[maI5^reIt; (?@) 5maIgreIt]vi.移动, 移往vt.使移居, 使移植
(13) plague[pleI^]n.麻烦,灾祸vt.折磨, 使苦恼
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