2006年VOA标准英语-Kenyan Pastoralists Hardest Hit by Drought

By Alisha Ryu
Kajiado, Kenya
19 January 2006

The Kenyan government says 3.5 million of the country's 32 million people are in need of immediate¹ food aid as a result of a severe drought ravaging² many parts of East Africa. The Kajiado District in southeastern Kenya, the vast majority of the people affected³ are herdsmen, whose lives depend entirely⁶ on the climate.

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Even in the best of times, water is a precious commodity in the plains of southeastern Kenya. Rival tribes who share this arid⁷ land have fought repeatedly for water and pasture rights.

The pastoral Maasai people, who have lived here for thousands of years crisscrossing the plains in search of grazing land for their herds⁵ of cattle, sheep and goats, have survived numerous violent clashes - many of them sparked by droughts that ravage⁸ the region on a regular basis.

But 80-year-old Kashimiri Eleposo, says this recent drought has brought a level of calamity⁹ few people here have ever experienced. Speaking in the Maasai language, he laments¹⁰ the loss of nearly all of his 400 cattle and sheep to hunger and disease. Now, he says his family's health is deteriorating¹¹.

Eleposo says some of his family members are so weak from hunger, they are unable to leave the house. He says he has tried to sell his remaining cattle and goats. But with so many people trying to sell off their animals, prices have plummeted¹² in recent months, making it impossible for Eleposo to get enough money to feed his family and to buy medicine.

Maasai man guides his cattle herd⁴ next to a busy highway in Nairobi, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006  
  
At this time of the year, the Maasai say the plains should be full of animals grazing on grass watered by seasonal¹³ rains that usually fall between October and November and again between April and July.

The October-November rains are especially critical because they replenish¹⁴ the numerous bore holes in the area. These underground wells often serve as the only source of water for people and animals.

But little rain has fallen in Kajiado and eastern Kenya in the past two years. Now, only patches of scrub brush cling to life in the brown, cracked earth. In a telltale sign of how little moisture there is in the air, dust devils have become a common sight, swirling¹⁵ sand and debris¹⁶ across the parched¹⁷ landscape.

District health officer Jane Kimintin notes that because the lives of the Maasai and herdsmen are so tied to their animals, any crisis that affects their livestock¹⁸ usually has devastating¹⁹ consequences for their owners as well.

"It has been really bad," she said. "The Maasai depend on their animals for their daily food, so right now, they are not having food. They are not having milk. Mothers and children are coming in with a lot of malnutrition²⁰."

The drought has also raised fears that tribal²¹ clashes here and elsewhere in Kenya could escalate²² as the competition for water and livestock intensifies²³.

The drought has hit a huge area, affecting northern, southern, and eastern Kenya, as well as in neighboring Ethiopia and Somalia.

Kajiado resident Jonathan Manangoi says this time, people simply do not have the option of moving their animals to better grazing lands like they could do in the past. 

Maasai man looks after his cattle grazing in Langata cemetery²⁴, in Nairobi, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006   
  
"They will be forced to change their course of life," he said. "Like now, if all the livestock are gone completely, what do you expect? They will go to the wildlife and eat them all. So, that is very bad also."

The Kenyan government has declared the situation a national disaster and has appealed for food, medicine and $150 million from donor²⁵ countries.

The government says it has released millions of dollars in emergency funds to, among other things, deliver water by trucks to needy²⁶ communities and to buy livestock from desperate owners, who can neither afford to feed the animals nor sell them.

Aid agencies like the Kenyan Red Cross have also been involved in a similar project to purchase livestock. The aim of the project is to provide much-needed cash to the community and immediate access to food. Minutes after the animals are purchased, they are slaughtered²⁷ and their meat distributed to hungry families.

But while the Maasai in Kajiado say they are grateful, many say it is too little, too late. They blame the government for failing to act on warnings, issued more than a year ago, about a possible famine if the rains failed again in 2005.

District council member Peter Mweko says western Kenya had had rainfall and bumper²⁸ harvests. Councilman Mweko says the government did not have measures in place that could have quickly redistributed the surplus food from the west to where they were needed elsewhere in the country.

"We see that things are getting worse day by day. It is becoming too much," he said. "The government, they say they have the food, but they say they have no transport. We do not know what is happening."

The head of special programs for the Kenyan government, John Munyes, acknowledges that the famine threatening the lives of millions of Kenyans is not necessarily drought-related.

"The problem is not really the lack of food in the country. It is access to that food. We must be prepared all the time," he said. "The government has been providing, yes. But I think we need to do more than what we have done in the past."

Even if Kenya's drought-stricken regions receive adequate rainfall during the next rainy season, the government says that many devastated²⁹ communities will likely require humanitarian³⁰ and food aid well into next year.

No one here wants to contemplate³¹ what the consequences may be if the rains do not come at all.

1 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

2 ravaging   

毁坏( ravage的现在分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• It is believed that in fatigue there is a repeated process of ravaging the material. 据认为，在疲劳中，有一个使材料毁坏的重复过程。
• I was able to capture the lion that was ravaging through town. 我能逮住正在城里肆虐的那头狮子。

3 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。

4 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

5 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

8 ravage   

vt.使...荒废，破坏...；n.破坏，掠夺，荒废

参考例句：

• Just in time to watch a plague ravage his village.恰好目睹了瘟疫毁灭了他的村庄。
• For two decades the country has been ravaged by civil war and foreign intervention.20年来，这个国家一直被内战外侵所蹂躏。

9 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

10 laments   

n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

11 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

12 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

14 replenish   

vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满

参考例句：

• I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
• We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。

15 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

16 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

17 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

18 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

19 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

20 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。

21 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

22 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

23 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

25 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

26 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

27 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

29 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

30 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

31 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。