VOA标准英语10月-Doctors Warn of Increase in Cholera Cases in Zimb

People in some parts of Zimbabwe's capital city Harare are being forced to dig holes in the ground for water as the city's water delivery system continues to break down. As a result, doctors warn that recent outbreaks of cholera¹ could worsen as the rainy season looms². Tendai Maphosa reports for VOA from Harare.

Dozens of people have died of cholera in various parts of Zimbabwe recently. But health officials warned that the combination of burst sewer³ pipes, which are a regular feature in some of Harare's low-income suburbs, and the rains could make matters much worse.

Dr. Douglas Gwatidzo is the chairman of Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights and blames the cholera outbreak on people drinking unsafe water.

He said,"We have places where people have resorted to digging wells and the shallow wells are not very far from the drains that are full of sewage obviously those places are going to be flooded so there is going to be cross contamination from the drainage system and then the wells so it means all the open wells are going to be heavily contaminated."
　

Martin Mhizha fetches water from an unprotected water source in Epworth, Zimbabwe, (file photo)

While the problem is normally associated with people living in rural areas where there is no running water, it's very much an urban problem here. The dormitory suburb of Chitungwiza, a mere⁴ 30 kilometers from Harare and Chinhoyi, a town some 116 kilometers from the capital, have both witnessed outbreaks recently resulting in the death of an estimated 30 people.

The water delivery system in Harare has been erratic⁵ for years now. VOA visited one of the worst hit parts of the city and spoke⁶ to this resident.

She said, "We have almost nine months without any water. Other areas they have got two years without water from their water taps."

For water to drink and domestic use, she and the other residents have resorted to digging holes in the ground. They also do their laundry close to the hole which is near a stream sewage spillage.

She added, "There are some insects as you can see, mosquitoes breed in here and then we take the water to go and drink."

The residents of this area said they boil their water and use water purifying tablets to minimize the chances of catching⁷ diseases. But it does not always work as they have had cholera outbreaks in the past.

While those in the poorer areas are the most exposed, Dr. Gwatidzo said, even those with uninterrupted or irregular supplies of water are at risk. Harare drinking water is just not safe, he said, and the rains will increase the chances of those who drink it catching some bug⁸.

He said, "Unless by some miracle we manage to lay our hands on large quantities to treat our water, I think the onset⁹ of the rains spells doom¹⁰ for the population of Harare and other towns."

The Zimbabwe National Water Authority is tasked with bringing clean and safe to drink water to the people. It puts down the water woes¹¹ to breakdowns¹² at water purifying plants, a lack of foreign currency to replace old equipment and to buy adequate water purification chemicals.

The Deputy Minister of Water and Infrastructural¹³ Development Walter Mzembi attacked donors¹⁴ and multilateral agencies who have apparently¹⁵ promised to support the delivery of water only after a power-sharing government is in place.

He is quoted in the government mouthpiece The Herald¹⁶ as saying water is a basic right and the donors should not play politics with it.

1 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

2 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

4 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

5 erratic   

adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。
• The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。

6 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。

7 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

8 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

9 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

10 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

11 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

12 breakdowns   

n.分解( breakdown的名词复数 )；衰竭；（车辆或机器的）损坏；统计分析

参考例句：

• Her old car was unreliable, so the trip was plagued by breakdowns. 她的旧车老不听使唤，一路上总是出故障。 来自辞典例句
• How do we prevent these continual breakdowns? 我们如何防止这些一再出现的故障？ 来自辞典例句

13 infrastructural   

adj.基础结构的基础设施的

参考例句：

• Must increase the investment dynamics unceasingly, strengthens the countryside infrastructural facilities. 要不断加大投入力度，加强农村基础设施建设。 来自互联网
• In the 1980s, India started with some infrastructural advantages over China. 1980年代，印度在某些基础设施方面优于中国。 来自互联网

14 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

16 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。