2006年VOA标准英语-AIDS Cuts Deadly Swath Through Portions of

By Delia Robertson
Johannesburg
08 March 2006

Population growth in most of Africa is expected to rise sharply over the next 50 years. But, in southern Africa, AIDS is cutting a deadly swath through two major segments of the population - the most productive group aged¹ between 19 and 45, and society's youngest - those under five years of age.

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"Yes - I like to play soccer but I don't have a chance," says 15-year-old Bongani, who no longer has a chance to play soccer because he must now take care of his two younger siblings², aged 11 and 9.

Their mother, a single parent, died just months ago from complications of AIDS. Instead of joining his friends in their daily game of after-school street soccer, now Bongani must oversee³ his siblings' homework, prepare an evening meal, and clean the house. His schoolwork receives attention only after his charges are asleep.

 
AIDS orphan⁴ Kelebogile Moloi attends prayer service on World AIDS Day in Soweto, South Africa, Dec. 1, 2005
  
Bongani is one of 10 million children orphaned⁵ by AIDS in southern Africa, and among millions forced to take on the role of parent to younger siblings. Others, perhaps more fortunate, now live under the care of a grandparent - usually a grandmother. But Professor Clifford Odimgegwu of the University of the Witwatersrand, says the senior generation is consequently being denied the natural fruits of a long life.

"A pattern that is emerging, that grandparents now are taking care of the orphans⁶, their orphans, grandsons and daughters who are left by their mothers and fathers. Now instead of the reverse, the normal African system whereby children take care of grandparents, grandparents are now the people who are taking care of orphans," he said.

Odimegwu, a social demographer⁷ who coordinates⁸ the university's demography⁹ and population studies unit, told VOA that, in southern Africa, the pandemic has already upset what he calls the population pyramid. It is a pyramid, he says, based on an emerging generation of infants and toddlers, topped by a pre-adult generation - a productive generation - and senior citizens.

Odimegwu says AIDS is decimating two important layers in the pyramid, those under five years old who, as the emerging generation, should be the long-term future of the region's population. And, 19 to 45-year-olds, those who must sustain and build economies for the future. He says alarm bells should be ringing throughout the governments of the region.

"The implication of this really is that the future of this region, if proper care is not taken, the future of this region is in jeopardy," he said.

By 2010, in some countries, such as South Africa and Botswana, most deaths of children under five will be the result of AIDS. In the same period, life expectancy¹⁰ at birth will drop by at least 39 years. Odimegwu says the impact of the disease, whether caused by illness, death or bereavement¹¹, affects every sector¹² of societies and economies in the region.

Even without AIDS, most of the regions' health systems were functioning far below the World Health Organization recommended ratio between patient and health professional. Instead of one doctor per 5,000 people, most countries in the region have less than one doctor per 20,000. And most southern African countries have just 10 percent of the nurses per patient that developed nations do.

Now, some experts say, the region's health systems are already buckling¹³ under the impact of the epidemic¹⁴. And Soraya Elloker, an official with the People's Health Movement, says that not only are health workers ill, dying and bereaved¹⁵ but that the disease has added to the demands on their time.

"They have also indicated there [are] a lot of additional services they are providing . . . The prevention of mother to child transmission program is added. HIV services is added. We have never had those before. They see more sick children, more children with pneumonia¹⁶, with diarrhea," she said. "They are also finding that a lot of children are not being cared for by their biological parents because of the epidemic. There are a lot of social problems."

Elloker tells VOA the impact on health workers affects every aspect of their work and that doctors and nurses worry that they are often not able to maintain high standards, such as spending time obtaining detailed¹⁷ patient histories. Also, she says, they are forced to make ethical¹⁸ decisions, such as who to treat first, in highly pressured, fraught¹⁹ working environments.

Education systems are also already reeling under the impact of AIDS. Carol Coombe, an independent education specialist who often advises regional governments, says that, for 20 years, educators and government officials assumed that teachers would impart knowledge about the disease to students and teach them life-skills to avoid becoming infected.

But Coombe says the problem for education systems is much more complex. She says regional governments need to know how to sustain such systems while tens of thousands of teachers die and the already huge number of orphans becomes bigger. She says they also need to learn how to respond to the high levels of trauma²⁰ being experienced by both teachers and learners.

Beyond that, says Coombe, governments need to know how to manage these issues.

"In no country, including South Africa, could we say that we had a management structure and sufficient skills to meet the challenge of HIV/AIDS - we simply we could not do it," she continued. "So although I think at the moment we know more or less what needs to be done . . . the question remains²¹, are we able to do it. And, for some some of us the answer is, certainly as far as governments are concerned, and some of their closest partners, no."

The challenges faced by the health and education sectors²² in southern Africa are replicated²³ throughout these societies, from public services, to mining, to banking²⁴, to agriculture.

In his recent book, Buckling, researcher Hein Marais likens the impact of AIDS on South Africa's population to that of the plague in 14th century Europe. Marais predicts that, like the plague, the consequences of AIDS will be both widespread and far-reaching, causing collapse²⁵ in some sectors of society, and regeneration in others.

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

3 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

4 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

5 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

6 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

7 demographer   

n.人口统计学家

参考例句：

• Professor Antonio Golini is a demographer at the University of Rome. 罗马大学安东尼奥教授是位人口统计学家。 来自互联网
• Demographer William Frey says immigrants with young families will help keep the United States competitive. 人口统计学家佛瑞表示这些年轻的家庭会帮助美国保持竞争力。 来自互联网

8 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 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。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 demography   

n.人口统计，人口学

参考例句：

• Demography is the analysis of population variables.人口学是对人口变量的分析。
• It was once a rule of demography that people have fewer children as their countries get richer.按人口统计学的一贯规律，一个国家里的人民越富有，他们所拥有的孩子就越少。

10 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

11 bereavement   

n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛

参考例句：

• the pain of an emotional crisis such as divorce or bereavement 诸如离婚或痛失亲人等情感危机的痛苦
• I sympathize with you in your bereavement. 我对你痛失亲人表示同情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

13 buckling   

扣住

参考例句：

• A door slammed in the house and a man came out buckling his belt. 房子里的一扇门砰地关上，一个男子边扣腰带边走了出来。
• The periodic buckling leaves the fibre in a waved conformation. 周期性的弯折在纤维中造成波形构成。

14 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

15 bereaved   

adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物）

参考例句：

• The ceremony was an ordeal for those who had been recently bereaved. 这个仪式对于那些新近丧失亲友的人来说是一种折磨。
• an organization offering counselling for the bereaved 为死者亲友提供辅导的组织

16 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

17 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

18 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

19 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

20 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

21 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

22 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

23 replicated   

复制( replicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 重复； 再造； 再生

参考例句：

• Later outplant the seedlings in a replicated permanent test plantation. 以后苗木出圃栽植成重复的永久性试验林。
• The phage has replicated and the donor cells have lysed. 噬菌体已复制和给体细胞已发生裂解。

24 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

25 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。