VOA慢速英语2015 地球上最饥饿的地方

 

AS IT IS 2015-01-15 The Hungriest Place on Earth 地球上最饥饿的地方

Recent studies suggest the African nation of Burundi has the highest levels of hunger and undernourished people worldwide. More than 10 years of war, along with poverty and overpopulation, have strongly affected¹ the nation’s economic and nutritional² conditions. Continued rising demands for limited resources create serious problems for Burundi.

Along many of the hillsides in Burundi’s northern Ngozi province, workers are digging and planting. They hope to stop fertile soils from sliding away in what is considered the hungriest place on earth.

The United Nations World Food Program is currently³ paying more than 5,700 local farmers to work other people's lands. The WFP program, Food-for-Assets, comes after years of local farmers trying and failing to beat hunger by working their own land.

Fifty-year-old Matthias Bukuru is one of the farmers. He says that the $1.25 wage he earns is a fortune compared to his past. He describes his former farming life as “self-enforced slavery.” And he says he still went hungry.

He says he once worked on a farm and was paid just 12 cents a day. He says that amount would only buy him a small number of sweet potatoes. He says he could not feed his family.

Each year the International Food Policy Research Institute releases a Global Hunger Index report. The 2014 report showed the highest areas of hunger are in Africa south of the Sahara. The report describes Burundi and Eritrea as extremely high areas of hunger.

In East Asia and Southeast Asia hunger is common.  However, in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, the hunger situation has improved.  

The report says Angola, Bangladesh, Chad and Ghana saw big improvement in dealing⁴ with the issue of hunger. So did Malawi and Rwanda. The report says there is very little hunger in the Near East, North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean as well as in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth⁵ of Independent States.

The Burundian civil war ended in 2005 after 12 years of fighting. The conflict left much fertile land unattended. Some also was repossessed. Overpopulation in the country has also increased pressure on food production.

Matthias Bukuru and many others say that they returned home after years in exile⁶ to infertile⁷ land and had no money to regenerate⁸ it.

Jean-Dominique Masumbuko is the agricultural coordinator⁹ for the Christian¹⁰ aid group World Vision. He says that the signs of hunger and poverty are clear to see on the faces of the people who sign up for the project.

He says the people show no sign of physical strength. He says they appear almost bloodless.

At a nearby clinic, crying babies, older children and underweight mothers fill the room. Some of the children are already in a World Food Program effort that feeds for extremely underweight children and breastfeeding mothers.

Pascaline Minani, has a 6-year-old son in the program. She walked five kilometers carrying her baby to get to the center. She is seeking supplements to improve her breast milk. She worries that without supplements her baby might suffer severe hunger.

But WFP workers find that Minani's measurements do not meet the requirement. She is not underweight enough to receive the supplements.

Pascaline Minani says she cannot stop thinking about food. She says her only wish is to feed her children once a day, and if there is more, she will feed herself.

The World Food Program says that recent studies show that feeding and agricultural programs have reduced malnutrition¹¹ rates nationwide from 58 to 49 percent. The WFP says Burundi's government is eager to eradicate¹² hunger.

Words in this Story 

undernourished – adj. not getting enough food for good health and growth

fortune – n. a very large amount of money

regenerate – v. to grow again after being lost or damaged

supplement – n. something that is added to something else in order to make it complete

eradicate – v. to remove something completely

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 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

3 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

6 exile   

n.流放，被流放者；vt.流放，放逐，使流亡

参考例句：

• After an exile of eight years her uncle returned to Cairo.她叔叔背井离乡8年后返回开罗。
• Napoleon was sent into exile on an island.拿破仑被流放到一个岛上。

7 infertile   

adj.不孕的；不肥沃的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• Plants can't grow well in the infertile land.在贫瘠的土地上庄稼长不好。
• Nobody is willing to till this infertile land.这块薄田没有人愿意耕种。

8 regenerate   

vt.使恢复，使新生；vi.恢复，再生；adj.恢复的

参考例句：

• Their aim is to regenerate British industry.他们的目的是复兴英国的工业。
• Although it is not easy,you have the power to regenerate your life.尽管这不容易，但你有使生活重获新生的能力。

9 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 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。

12 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。