VOA标准英语2008年-The Business of Opium in Afghanistan: Drug Addi

By Siri Nyrop
Kabul And Balkh Province, Afghanistan
27 May 2008
 

Afghanistan supplies virtually all of the world's illegal opium¹.  Last year, the country's drug trade was a $4-billion business, half of which alone was produced in the south where the fighting against the Taliban insurgency² is the fiercest.

Getting Afghanistan to rid itself of poppy is a pillar of U.S. policy there, because the Taliban use profits from opium as a source of revenue.  For Afghans themselves, however, feelings about poppy are conflicted:  It's harmful to their country and to their people, but it is also a livelihood³ for many where instability offers few alternatives. In the second of a four part series, VOA's Afghan service examines the drug trade in Afghanistan. VOA's Siri Nyrop narrates⁴.

The art of carpet weaving is passed from generation to generation among the Turkmen women of Afghanistan's northern Balkh province.

So is opium addiction⁵ Najiba lives in a remote village near the Uzbek border.  She is around 50-years-old, a mother and grandmother.

She earns little of the money the sellers get for her carpets in the city.  There is no doctor in Najiba's village, and her work makes her body ache all over.  She has relieved the pain with opium for 16 years. "We sleep.  We get up and take some opium," she said.

Her days begin and end with opium.

Reporter: "How much?"

Najiba, carpet weaver⁶: "Just the size of a pea.  Two times a day."

The infant's mother is sick with TB. Najiba gives her grandchild opium to keep her from fussing while she works on the weaving that feeds her family and her habit.   

"We give the baby opium in the morning because we are weaving carpet," she explained.

But the surge in addiction is not coming from Afghanistan's mountains.

Dr. Mohammad Farid Bazgar is trying to cope with the health problem that has already struck an estimated one million Afghans and is rapidly spreading in the cities.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, most of the addicts⁷ are young men who have returned to Afghanistan after years in Iranian refugee camps. Iran has one of the world's highest percentages of adult drug addicts.  Afghanistan's huge opium trade penetrates⁸ Iran to get to other markets.

"Thirty or 40 years ago, no one knew very much about heroin⁹.  But 3 decades of war, in addition to bringing other problems, brought the problem of heroin.  Now we see lots of people addicted¹⁰ to it," Dr. Bazgar said. 

Dr. Bazgar offers understanding, treatment and education about the dangers of drug addiction.  He says he fears it will trigger another medical scourge:  HIV/AIDS.

As Afghanistan stabilizes¹¹ and its economy expands, the hope is that more opportunities for young people in the cities will be an effective deterrent¹² from drug use.

But in the remote reaches of the country, far from medical care, opium is medicine for ailments¹³ of the body and the harshness of life.

1 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

2 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

3 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

4 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

5 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

6 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

7 addicts   

有…瘾的人( addict的名词复数 )； 入迷的人

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• There is counseling to help Internet addicts?even online. 有咨询机构帮助网络沉迷者。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

8 penetrates   

v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 )；刺入；了解；渗透

参考例句：

• This is a telescope that penetrates to the remote parts of the universe. 这是一架能看到宇宙中遥远地方的望远镜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dust is so fine that it easily penetrates all the buildings. 尘土极细，能极轻易地钻入一切建筑物。 来自辞典例句

9 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

10 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

11 stabilizes   

n.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的名词复数 )v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The broadbased attachment of the mesenteric root stabilizes the small bowel. 肠系膜根部基底宽阔的附着面使小肠得以稳定。 来自辞典例句
• The available supply of industrial product and produce stabilizes growth. 工业品与农产品的有效供给稳定增长。 来自互联网

12 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

13 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。