VOA标准英语2010年-Lost Livestock Mean Lost Livelihoods i

"We have limited funds, so we have to make a choice whether we feed people or we feed livestock¹"

In addition to lost crops and possessions, many survivors² of Pakistan's floods lost their livestock. Surviving farm animals urgently need food and medical care.

As in much of the developing world, a family's herds⁴ and flocks can mean the difference between poverty and prosperity.

 

When Barkat Ali fled the floods in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, he took his animals with him. "Our survival depends on this livestock and nothing else. I could save my life and this livestock. I have asked the government to provide us with grass and water for [them]. If this livestock perishes, we will also die. This is our bread and butter," he said.

Ali's animals provide his family with butter, meat and milk. But they do much more than that. Especially in western Pakistan, oxen are used as draught⁵ (draft) animals. They're indispensible farm equipment, according to Sajjad Imran, country director for the aid agency International Relief and Development, or IRD. "Most of the land preparation is by the bulls. They still use the oxen for the land plowing," he said.

And as in much of the developing world, livestock are a family's mobile bank account, explains emergency operations officer Julius Jackson, with the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO. "When times are good, you build up your herd³, and when times are bad you sell them and you cash it in," he said.

And that's why people made every effort to save them, Jackson says. "I remember seeing people trying to get their buffalo⁶ into a boat. And that's how important it is. If you lose your livestock, you really have lost everything," he said.

Many did lose everything. The Pakistani government estimates that 1.2 million livestock and six million poultry⁷ died in the floods.

Qadir Bakhsh managed to save some of his animals from floods in Sindh province. But he worries about the survivors. "Our animals are hungry. As you can see for yourself they are eating dust and dirt. Many calves⁸ and cows have perished. Seven, eight sheep have perished, only two of my sheep survived. The donkeys are also hungry, the buffaloes⁹ have grown weak. There is no husk, no oilcake or fodder¹⁰ here. [We are also going hungry and with no facilities, I am wearing old clothes]," he said.

IRD's Sajjad Imran says it's a problem across the flood-affected regions. "[The] majority of animals just washed away with the flood. And the rest of the animals, they are starving. And they are getting all kinds of diseases," he said.

And desperate people are being forced to sell their livestock for a fraction of their value, says the FAO's Julius Jackson. "There are stories of people selling a 90,000 rupee buffalo for nine, 10,000 rupees simply because they have no other option," he said.

The FAO, the Pakistani government, and aid groups have begun to deliver some relief to livestock owners. But there are not enough resources to reach everyone, says Zalynn Peishi with the aid group Oxfam. "I think a lot of organizations are making difficult choices. We have limited funds, so we have to make a choice whether we feed people or we feed livestock," she said.

Oxfam is giving cash vouchers¹¹ so families can make that choice themselves. FAO recently began an emergency feeding and veterinary care program in the northwest that aims to reach 50,000 households.

But the needs are much greater. FAO officials say how many more families they can help will depend on funding from donors¹² - which aid officials say has been slow to arrive.
 

1 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

4 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。

5 draught   

n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计

参考例句：

• He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
• It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗，没有过堂风。

6 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

7 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

8 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 buffaloes   

n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓

参考例句：

• Some medieval towns raced donkeys or buffaloes. 有些中世纪的城市用驴子或水牛竞赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Water buffaloes supply Egypt with more meat than any other domestic animal. 水牛提供给埃及的肉比任何其它动物都要多。 来自辞典例句

10 fodder   

n.草料；炮灰

参考例句：

• Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.割下来晒干用作饲料的草。
• Guaranteed salt intake, no matter which normal fodder.不管是那一种正常的草料，保证盐的摄取。

11 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

12 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》