VOA标准英语2013--Syrian Refugees in Iraq Face Harsh Winter

 

Syrian Refugees in Iraq Face Harsh Winter

 

Freezing rain falls on the Arbat Refugee Camp in northern Iraq, more than 400 kilometers from the Syrian border. In the past five months, more than 500 Syrian refugees have traveled to this ad hoc camp in the middle of a bean field.

The children who are not playing outside in the mud try to stay warm by burning refuse found in an abandoned sheep barn.

Fuaz Akil is an ethnic¹ Kurd from the Syrian city of Deir Ezzor. He's living with his family of 10 in a tent donated by the semi-autonomous Kurdish government of northern Iraq.

"We didn't come here for pleasure. We're suffering. Our house was destroyed. We lost everything. We came here because this is Kurdistan and these are our people," he said. "But still we are suffering. We're not living in this tent for fun. We had our own house. We had our own car. Our own tractor."

With more than 80,000 Syrian refugees in Iraq, the U.N. and other international agencies aren't supplying essentials to those crossing the border.

Tents, toilets, and food have been donated by the local government or by local charities.

Fatma Moussa, also a Kurd, traveled nearly a thousand kilometers from Aleppo after her house was destroyed by a rocket.

"It was the middle of the night when we left Aleppo. We were driven to Hasaka and then to the Iraqi border. It was snowing and I had to carry my son on my back," she said.

As the rain falls, children dart² between shelters, trying to stay dry.

With the conflict in Syria showing no signs of abating³, these refugees will continue to suffer through a harsh winter in the foothills of Iraq. 

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。

3 abating   

减少( abate的现在分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• The storm showed no signs of abating. 暴风雨没有减弱的迹象。
• The recent public anxiety about this issue may now be abating. 近来公众对这个问题的焦虑心情现在也许正在缓和下来。