时间:2019-01-14 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2012年(二月)


英语课

Arab World Faces Serious Poverty, Food Security Challenges


A new report says Arab countries face a serious food security challenge and that poverty rates are much higher than official numbers suggest. It blames the situation on vulnerability to volatile 1 food prices, natural disasters and water scarcity 2.

The International Food Policy Research Institute, IFPRI, says its report shows a more realistic picture of the Arab world.

“In general, we know way too little about the food security and poverty in the Arab world and that has several reasons. And one of the major reasons is that the access and availability to data is really limited,” said Clemens Breisinger, an IFPRI research fellow and lead author of the report.

IFPRI said its report – Beyond the Arab Awakening 3 – uses “innovative research methods and diverse sources of information.”

“The first message of that report is essentially 4 the poverty and food security situation may be much worse than suggested by official numbers. And the kind of policy implication out of this is [that] in the wake of the Arab awakening and the whole drive for more transparency, a major issue to tackle is also data availability and access in order to improve decision making and information of the people,” he said.

Breisinger said the Arab world has a number of factors that make it distinct from other regions.

“Number one, it’s the most food import dependent region in the world. It imports more than 50 percent of its food consumption and is by far the highest [such rate] in the world. At the same time, agriculture potential is somewhat limited. That is severely 5 constrained 6 mainly by water and exacerbated 7 by climate change,” said Breisinger.

Adding to that is a high population growth rate, second only to sub-Saharan Africa. So consumer demand puts a strain on food supplies.

“Given the supply constraints 8 – more demand no matter what – they will further drift apart. So the food gap will increase, which obviously increases the vulnerability of that region to global food price shocks – the ones that we saw in 2008 and to some extent in 2010,” he said.

The IFPRI report also raised concerns about high child “under nutrition” rates. Breisinger described children as the most vulnerable segment in society, while at the same time being society’s greatest asset.

“If children are malnourished at any time between zero and 5 years, that actually has long-term implications. Reduces their IQ, their productivity and thus overall the prospects 9 for the country,” he said.

The report said Egypt has seen an increase in child “under nourishment” over the past 8 years.” A very high prevalence of child “under nutrition” rates is reported in such countries as Sudan, Somalia, Comoros and Yemen.

It says, often, not enough of the household income is spent on food, saying in Yemen, for example, 25 percent is spent on Khat. U.S. narcotic 10 experts say chewing Khat leaves “can induce a state of euphoria and elation 11, as well as increase alertness and arousal.”

The International Food Policy Research Institute recommended that Arab countries collect better data on their populations regarding poverty and food security. It also says greater emphasis should be placed on creating jobs by increasing exports other than oil. Finally, it says government spending on agriculture, education, health, infrastructure 12 and social protection is “most critical.”

The IFPRI report was released in Beirut at the Food Secure Arab World conference (2/6-7) sponsored by IFPRI, the U.N. and the Social Commission for Western Asia.



adj.反复无常的,挥发性的,稍纵即逝的,脾气火爆的;n.挥发性物质
  • With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定,投资冒着很大的风险。
  • His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱,喜怒无常。
n.缺乏,不足,萧条
  • The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
  • The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。
n.觉醒,醒悟 adj.觉醒中的;唤醒的
  • the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
  • People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上
  • Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
  • She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
adj.束缚的,节制的
  • The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服,他觉得不得不接受。
  • I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。
v.使恶化,使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )
  • The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
  • The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》
强制( constraint的名词复数 ); 限制; 约束
  • Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
  • What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么? 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
n.希望,前途(恒为复数)
  • There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
  • They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。
n.麻醉药,镇静剂;adj.麻醉的,催眠的
  • Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。
  • No medical worker is allowed to prescribe any narcotic drug for herself.医务人员不得为自己开处方使用麻醉药品。
n.兴高采烈,洋洋得意
  • She showed her elation at having finally achieved her ambition.最终实现了抱负,她显得十分高兴。
  • His supporters have reacted to the news with elation.他的支持者听到那条消息后兴高采烈。
n.下部构造,下部组织,基础结构,基础设施
  • We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
  • We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设,发展各类群众文化。
学英语单词
-loquy
acetylphosphatase
active workshop
amblychaeturichthys hexanema
Amphimonas caudatus
argument transmission
assume the form of
atrio lake
autocratship
autostopper
Bernabé Rivera
Brachiopterygii
camphenol
Caulobacter vibrioides
Chengfei
Chola dynasty
ChromomycinA3
clad sheet
controlled electric clock
corn thresher
crown cleaner
Crystal L.
damn right and left
delayed available fertilizer
depuratus
detergent washing
dip tinning
distichodontid
Ebstein syndrome
effective filing date
ethylurethan
extranuclear structure
faecal pellet (fecal pellet)
far
feedback strategy
felt dryer
fibry
filing date of application
finestiller
fire-fork
footsy
four wheel drive tractor
free dispatch
fritillariae thunbergii bulbus
gaseous exchange
heraldists
high-energy reactor
hold lamp
hollowy
hydropathic
hysteroptosia
ingegno
interior loop
Jungbunzlau
kaffiyehs
katzs
Kāndāpāra
labialis
level allowance
Margo lateralis pedis
mecardonia procumbens
Microgynioidae
myth-busting
NEOCANCILLA
nischolas is
noise peak
oldcorn
operating force measurement
palatine papilla cyst
phylloid-trusses
physiological plant pathology
pixelations
pizzazzy
polydichloro-p-xylene
postrotary nystagmus
project circuit
protozoal infection
pulse width modulator
red - tailed hawk
rubent
Sacred College of Cardinals
self-regulating process
semi-irreducible graph
separate set
shampoo powder
signal horn
Sorbus medogensis
sutro
swamp gums
take a pass
techpsych
test plot
tip-driven helicopter
toe kick
transaction velocity
tribond
upper fan
upper lock approch
vamper
victimship
voulds
wax begonia