VOA标准英语2008年-Floods Destroy Homes, Livelihoods in Southern A

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
11 January 2008

Floods and heavy rains have destroyed the homes and crops of nearly 100,000 people in several countries in southern Africa. Water levels of major rivers are approaching those that caused disastrous¹ flooding seven years ago, but relief officials say better preparation has reduced casualty rates so far. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from our Southern African Bureau in Johannesburg.

Relief officials in southern Africa say heavy rains for the past month have killed several dozen people and displaced tens of thousands one month before the peak of the rainy season. Tens of thousands more have lost their crops.

An officer with the United Nations Humanitarian² Affairs Coordination³ Office, Odile Bulten, says the water levels of five rivers in the region have triggered the highest alert.

"As a result of heavy rains in Zambia and Zimbabwe these five rivers are overflowing⁴, their levels is [are] quite high," Odile said.

The areas most affected⁵ lie in the lowlands of central Mozambique where relief officials say 30,000 people have lost their homes and another 50,000 have lost their crops.

Bulten says emergency response teams are beginning to provide food, sanitation⁶, shelter, health and education facilities for those affected.

In Zimbabwe, soldiers are helping⁷ relief officials distribute food and medicine to victims of floods that have affected tens of thousands of people and left several thousand homeless.

A spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund, James Elder, says the rains ended a two-year drought but are complicating⁸ Zimbabwe's existing problems.

"The rainy season is still very much commencing," he said. "We've had an enormous amount of rain in December, more than 130 years of keeping records. And so what problems it is bringing is also happening at a time when Zimbabweans are facing multiple crises."

The problems include hyper-inflation, high unemployment and shortages of fuel and food. These are likely to worsen with the destruction of small gardens which many Zimbabweans grow in order to survive.

In addition, officials say nearly 1,000 people have been displaced by floods in Zambia and several hundred in Malawi.

Bulten says the rains are not expected to peak until mid-February. But she hopes that the disaster of seven years ago, when devastating⁹ floods killed 700 people and displaced 500,000 in Mozambique , will not be repeated.

"The governments are much better prepared which means that the impact on livelihoods¹⁰ and on communities has been mitigated¹¹ and therefore there are less [fewer] lives that have been lost so far," she said.

In Mozambique, officials are moving displaced people to permanent settlements. They hope this policy will help reduce the number of victims in the future.

1 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

2 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。

3 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

4 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

5 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。

6 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

7 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。

8 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

9 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。

10 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

11 mitigated   

v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cost of getting there is mitigated by Sydney's offer of a subsidy. 由于悉尼提供补助金，所以到那里的花费就减少了。 来自辞典例句
• The living conditions were slightly mitigated. 居住条件稍有缓解。 来自辞典例句