VOA常速英语2008年-Liberian Census Plods Ahead

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
26 March 2008

Liberia's much-heralded and awaited census¹ is plodding² ahead amid problems with workers who want more money and Liberians who are not staying home to be counted. VOA's Nico Colombant has more from our regional bureau in Dakar with some reporting by Prince Collins.

Census takers, who are locally called enumerators, have been starting slowly on some mornings, gathering³ at census headquarters in the Liberian capital, demanding more money before they get started.

One of them, Augustine Weh, says she deserves more than the $10 she is being promised to gather information at 50 houses a day.

"They said that the enumerator will be paid $10 per day," said Weh. "If you see the labor⁴ that we are doing, and each day, we are covering 50 houses. So you see that the job is very hard. It is tedious. We are underpaid and so we are not deployed⁵ yet."

But the director-general of the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information services, Edward Liberty, says there is no way their pay is going up.

"The question is what you pay the employee," he said. "It is the employer that determines that. What we have is what we offer. And we made it clear. We do not have anything more than that. So I mean I do not know. It is their choice."

The process started last Friday, which upset some religious leaders, since it coincided with the widely-observed Christian⁶ holiday Good Friday.

It is supposed to end this Friday, but Liberty, says it could last longer.

"It is possible, especially the Monrovia area, because we had some hurdles⁷ in starting," he said.

As the process drags on, fewer and fewer people are staying home as they should, so enumerators have to keep going to the same houses, sometimes traveling long distances by foot.

This is the country's first census since 1984, following years of government neglect and conflict.

Schools across the country have been closed since March 10, as students and teachers make up many of the thousands of enumerators and supervisors⁸.

The census form records everything from number of household members to religious beliefs, tribal⁹ group, occupation and recent deaths in the family.

Questions such as, 'Do you have a refrigerator, television, radio, or motorbike?', or 'Is your roof made up of zinc¹⁰, mud or asbestos?' are used to estimate income.

Age is one of the hardest questions, as many Liberians have no idea when exactly they were born. So enumerators ask respondents which key historical event they remember as a child.

Social worker Alphonse Armah says despite the difficulties, he believes the census is a valuable effort by all.

"It will also help the government to be able to know the people who live below the poverty line," said Armah. "It will also help government to direct development so it is a good process. No matter what setback¹¹ it may suffer. If we are to succeed, then it will be for the betterment of the Liberian people."

Some residents thought the census was to ask for taxes, while others thought they would be getting assistance. Instead they are being counted, in an exercise the government says is part of the slow reconstruction¹² process.

Estimates of the population vary widely from two to four million people. Preliminary census results have been promised for May this year. Final numbers are due in April next year.

1 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

2 plodding   

a.proceeding in a slow or dull way

参考例句：

• They're still plodding along with their investigation. 他们仍然在不厌其烦地进行调查。
• He is plodding on with negotiations. 他正缓慢艰难地进行着谈判。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

8 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 zinc   

n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。

11 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

12 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。