2006年VOA标准英语-Coalition of US Colleges and WFP Launch 'War' o

By Catherine Maddux
Washington
16 October 2006

An alliance of American colleges and universities along with the U.N. World Food Program kicked off a new campaign Monday, choosing World Food Day to announce a new partnership¹ to tackle world hunger.

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The program is called Universities Fighting Hunger. The idea is to bring a sense of urgency to the problem of chronic² hunger by mobilizing thousands of college students across the United States.

Students from Georgetown University in Washington are selling food and other items on campus to help publicize the new initiative. 
 

Malnourishment in Niger

According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, about 852 million people around the world do not have enough to eat - a number that represents more people than the populations of the United States, Canada and the European Union combined.

An estimated 24,000 people - mostly children - die everyday from hunger and related causes.

Helping³ announce the new hunger initiative was U.S. Congressman⁴ Spencer Bachus, a Republican from Alabama, who spoke⁵ to an audience of students, faculty⁶ and hunger experts at Georgetown University. The congressman appealed to students to get involved and stay that way. He sought to inspire them by using an analogy from the title of Charles Dicken's famous novel, A Tale of Two Cities.

"I hope that what you do with what you have is that you enter a tale of two cities," he said. "Today - sadly - it is a tale of two worlds. One very rich. One very poor. We are talking about two worlds. And we are talking about what our world will do to help our sisters and brothers in that other world."

Congressman Bachus also reminded students that solving the problem can be as easy as spending what hunger experts say it takes to feed a hungry child - just 19 cents a day.

James Morris, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, told the audience that feeding the hungry is simply a very important moral cause. And he called on students to begin a grassroots movement against chronic hunger.

"My hope, my prayer, my dream, my wish is that the world will build a movement, not unlike the movement that has addressed civil rights in this country or the environment," he said. "And the world needs to say today, 2006, it is reprehensible⁷, sinful, shameful⁸, unacceptable for 400 million children in the world to starve, to be hungry, to be malnourished."

Also rallying students at Georgetown to join the fight was fashion model Lauren Bush, a niece of President Bush. At age 22, Ms. Bush is also a student ambassador of the U.N. World Food Program. She said students are curious and energetic, making them ideal contributors in the effort to end world hunger. And Bush gave the example of a new handbag she designed and is selling to show exactly how students can help.

"We all need to encourage students to use their individual talents to fight hunger," she said. "For example, I have always been interested in fashion and design. As a result, I have started the feedbag project, which will raise money and awareness⁹ for WFP's school feeding program. Each bag will feed one child for one year."

The leader of the alliance is Auburn University, based in the southern U.S. state of Alabama. Nell Fortner is head basketball coach at the University. She is also an Olympic gold medalist, having coached her team to victory in the 2000 games. Along with the other speakers, she challenged the Washington audience to spread the message about chronic hunger.

"Somebody is going to come up with the solution to our world food problem. Somebody is," she said. "Why not somebody right here in this room? Or, why not somebody in this room that affects somebody else that comes up with the solution. You have got to believe it. Go for it."

The new coalition¹⁰ of more than 50 American colleges and universities and experts from the World Food Program hope that by getting their message out they will be able to raise enough money to declare victory in the war against hunger around the world.

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

7 reprehensible   

adj.该受责备的

参考例句：

• Lying is not seen as being morally reprehensible in any strong way.人们并不把撒谎当作一件应该大加谴责的事儿。
• It was reprehensible of him to be so disloyal.他如此不忠，应受谴责。

8 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

9 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

10 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。