VOA常速英语2008年-Desertification Pushes South Across West Africa

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
22 April 2008

Desertification is pushing further south in West Africa, crossing borders and creating devastating¹ effects on local populations. One example where the desert is advancing is from Mauritania to northern Senegal. VOA's Nico Colombant met with residents in the Podor border region who say their livelihoods² are now at risk.

Oumar Samba Kane, a 53-year-old local farmer, walks across caked, cracked and parched³ earth, which used to be a river 150 meters wide.

He says everyone used to use the river to wash clothes, to get fish, and to water the cattle.

He says every year now, there is more and more wind, which seems to be bringing more and more sand, pushing it into fields, making more and more dunes⁴, and blocking waterways.

In his shed, which he says used to be full of bags of cereal and beans, there are now just a few bags to feed his family and other villagers.

As birds chirp⁵ overhead, the village chief from nearby Singthou Amadou Mariam walks along the Senegal River that divides Senegal from Mauritania.

It is barely several-meters deep, getting narrower and narrower from year to year, while pipes that run from the river to irrigate⁶ nearby fields are out of use.

Village chief Idrissa Diop says there is not enough water anymore to cultivate the millet⁷ and rice local farmers once produced.

He says most young people are leaving the village, and that only old farmers like this man trying to turn and find some use to this dried earth are left to work.

Many younger Senegalese from this region try their luck in other African countries further south, where desertification does not reach, or risk their lives at sea on perilous⁸ attempts to reach Europe illegally.

Villagers here used to be able to feed themselves year-round, but now depend on financial help from relatives who have emigrated elsewhere.

Diop says the government promised what it called a great green wall to plant trees and block the desert's rapid advance, but he says nothing of the sort has happened.

One of the few young men who still live and work here is 25-year-old Alassane Sow.

As he herds⁹ cattle, he listens to an old radio with a weak signal that he carries at ear level under the hot midday sun.

He says there used to be grass everywhere, but not anymore. He says he has to walk long hours every day now for his cattle to be able to graze.

Sow says if he could he would leave as well. But he says he does not have the means to go anywhere. He also says he would feel bad for his family, if he did go, because he says, there would be no one left to do any work for those who have no choice, but to live here.

1 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。

2 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。

3 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

4 dunes   

沙丘( dune的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The boy galloped over the dunes barefoot. 那男孩光着脚在沙丘间飞跑。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat. 将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

5 chirp   

v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫

参考例句：

• The birds chirp merrily at the top of tree.鸟儿在枝头欢快地啾啾鸣唱。
• The sparrows chirp outside the window every morning.麻雀每天清晨在窗外嘁嘁喳喳地叫。

6 irrigate   

vt.灌溉，修水利，冲洗伤口，使潮湿

参考例句：

• The farmer dug several trenches to irrigate the rice fields.这个农民挖了好几条沟以灌溉稻田。
• They have built canals to irrigate the desert.他们建造成水渠以灌溉沙漠。

7 millet   

n.小米，谷子

参考例句：

• Millet is cultivated in the middle or lower reaches of the Yellow River.在黄河中下游地区，人们种植谷子。
• The high quality millet flour was obtained through wet milling.采用湿磨法获得了高品质的小米粉。

8 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

9 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。