VOA标准英语2008年-WFP Appeals for More Food and Action Against Pi

The United Nations World Food Program's director for Somalia says attacks on aid workers and threats to ships delivering food aid to Somalia are putting in danger the lives of the millions who now need urgent food assistance. He also called for a boost in humanitarian¹ assistance to the country. Tendai Maphosa has more in this report for VOA from London.

Addressing a press briefing in London, Peter Goossens said insecurity, drought and a succession of poor or failed harvests, are deepening the suffering of millions of people in the country and pushing hundreds of thousands more into destitution². The situation, Goossens added is worsened by the weakness of the Somali shilling against the dollar, coupled with rising food and fuel prices.

"We are currently assisting 2.5 million," he said. "That number is likely to go up towards the end of this year 2008 to 3.5 million, that is half of the population of Somalia."
　
Malnourished Somali child receives medical attention at a hospital, in the Somali town of Merka, some 60 miles south of Mogadishu (File)

Goossens added that many families are going hungry even when food is available in the markets because of the high prices. This has led to some villagers surviving on wild tubers usually eaten by animals. As a result, he said, malnutrition³ in under five-year-olds is on the increase.

WFP is urgently buying food for Somalia in South Africa but it faces a shortfall of $210 million until the end of March 2009. But the shortage of food is not the only problem.

"On top of everything else we have the issue of piracy⁴, what makes shipping⁵ large volumes of food into Somalia a very hazardous⁶ undertaking⁷, it's very difficult to find vessels⁸ that are willing to go into Somali ports unless with navy escorts," said WFP director.

Some western countries provided naval⁹ protection for the ships for some months but this ended last month. Since then, Goossens has noticed reluctance¹⁰ on the part of ship owners to ferry food to Somalia.

This, the WFP Somalia chief said, is understandable, as pirates have launched 24 attacks on vessels off Somalia's eastern and northern coasts so far this year. No escorted WFP ships were targeted. He added that overland or air options would be unable to handle the huge amounts of food which need to be delivered. Goossens appealed to countries with the capacity to come forward and protect the food carrying ships.

　

 

1 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。

2 destitution   

n.穷困，缺乏，贫穷

参考例句：

• The people lived in destitution. 民生凋敝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His drinking led him to a life of destitution. 酗酒导致他生活贫穷。 来自辞典例句

3 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

4 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

5 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

6 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

7 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

8 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

10 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。