VOA常速英语2017--联合国称南苏丹爆发饥荒

On February 20th, the United Nations declared a famine in parts of South Sudan. “This crisis is man-made, the direct consequence of a conflict prolonged by South Sudanese leaders who are unwilling¹ to put aside political ambitions for the good of their people,” said State Department Acting² Spokesperson Mark Toner.

2月20日，联合国宣布南苏丹部分地区出现饥荒。“这场危机是人祸，是南苏丹领导人不愿为人民福祉而放弃其政治野心，执意延长冲突的直接后果，”美国国务院代理发言人马克说。

South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in early July 2011. Peace lasted less than 18 months. In December 2013, a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and Vice³ President Riek Machar erupted into civil war. A peace accord signed in 2015 has failed to stop the violence, and the continued fighting led to a collapsing⁴ economy and wildly escalating⁵ food prices. Food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition⁶ have all grown steadily⁷ worse since the conflict began.

南苏丹是2011年7月初获得独立的。但和平只持续了不到18个月。2013年12月，南苏丹总统基尔(Salva Kiir)与副总统马查尔(Riek Machar)展开了权力之争，随后演变为内战。2015年签订的和平协定没能停止暴力形势，持续的战争导致经济崩塌，物价猛涨。粮食不足、饥饿、营养不良自从冲突爆发以来就一直每况日下。

Today, some 100,000 South Sudanese are on the verge⁸ of starvation and 7.5 million people, more than half the country's population, will require humanitarian⁹ assistance this year.

如今，有近10万名南苏丹人民在饥饿的边缘徘徊，而占南苏丹人口一半以上的750万人今年将需要人道主义救援。

“The United States is gravely concerned by the February 20 declaration of famine in parts of South Sudan and by the significant scale of humanitarian need throughout the country,” said Acting Spokesperson Toner. “We call on President Kiir to expeditiously¹⁰ make good on his promise that humanitarian and developmental organizations will have unimpeded access to populations in need across the country,” he said.

“美国极度担心2月20日联合国关于南苏丹部分地区出现饥荒的消息，担心南苏丹即将出现的对人道主义援助的大规模需求，”代理发言人特纳说。“我们呼吁总统基尔迅速兑现其承诺，保证人道主义发展组织可以不受阻碍地抵达南苏丹境内需要救助的人身边，”特纳说。

“Humanitarian actors are working tirelessly to reach those in need. All parties to the conflict must stop impeding¹¹ relief efforts and allow food and other essential assistance to reach those who need it the most.

“人道主义工作人员正在不懈努力地赶往有需要的人身边。交战各方必须停止阻碍救援工作，让粮食和其他必要的救济能够送抵最有需要的人身边。”

“The United States remains¹² the single largest donor¹³ of humanitarian assistance to South Sudan, having provided more than 2.1 billion dollars since 2014. Our assistance, including more than 600,000 metric tons of urgently needed food assistance, has saved lives and helped avert¹⁴ famine for three consecutive¹⁵ years.

“美国依然是南苏丹人道主义援助的最大捐献国，自2014年来以提供了21亿多美元。我们的援助包括提供60万公吨急需的粮食援助，拯救了无数生命，并助力扭转了持续了3年的饥荒情况。”

“We call on donors¹⁶ and other members of the international community to provide timely additional humanitarian assistance to save lives and support the people of South Sudan.”

“我们呼吁已捐献国和国际社会的其他成员国提供其他及时的人道主义援助，拯救生命，扶持南苏丹人民。”

1 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

5 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

8 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

9 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。

10 expeditiously   

adv.迅速地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• They have to be evaluated expeditiously, carefully with the patient fully UNDRESSED. 我看过许多的枪伤患者，但是就只有阿扁的伤口没有上述情形，真是天佑台湾。 来自互联网
• We will expeditiously facilitate trade transactions with the utmost professionalism. 我们会尽快贸易便利化的交易与最大的专业水平。 来自互联网

11 impeding   

a.(尤指坏事)即将发生的，临近的

参考例句：

• Fallen rock is impeding the progress of rescue workers. 坠落的石头阻滞了救援人员的救援进程。
• Is there sufficient room for the kiosk and kiosk traffic without impeding other user traffic? 该环境下是否有足够的空间来摆放信息亭？信息亭是否会妨碍交通或者行走？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

14 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

15 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

16 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》