VOA标准英语2011--Newly-Arrived Somali Refugees Crowd Dollo Ado Center
时间:2019-01-14 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2011年(十月)
Newly-Arrived Somali Refugees Crowd Dollo Ado Center
The flow of Somali refugees into Ethiopia appears to be picking up again as Kenyan troops advance into southern Somalia, raising security fears.
As dusk falls at the Dollo Ado transit 1 station on the Ethiopia/Somalia border, 5,000 new refugees settle in for another night of uncertainty 2.
They are the latest wave in the mass exodus 3 from southern Somalia, where a combination of war and drought has left them no choice but to give up everything and flee their homeland. It is a desperate attempt to rescue themselves from starvation, and insecurity.
For now, their lives are on hold.
Fleeing en masse
As darkness descends 4 over the sprawling 5 tent city, long lines form outside the camp kitchen; men and women in separate queues clutching pink tickets that entitle them to a bowl of warm gruel 6 that will tide them over till morning.
In the open-air corrugated 7 metal offices nearby, UN refugee agency workers prepare for the inevitable 8 next wave of refugees that will arrive in the morning.
Women and Children holding their pink tickets queue for the evening meal at the Dollo Ado transit center in Ethiopia, October 26, 2011.
Two hundred people showed up this day, and the flight from the famine zone has been picking up again since word came that Kenyan soldiers had crossed the border to drive out al-Qaeda inspired Islamist extremists known as al-Shabab, who have held them virtual captives, preventing them from getting outside help even as drought destroyed their crops and killed their livestock 9.
Contempt for al-Shabab
Those who make it to Dollo Ado say al-Shabab fighters are trying to stop them from leaving, even as famine grips the land. Young men of fighting age are especially susceptible 10 to being detained at al-Shabab check posts. The rebels need fighters.
Al-Shabab means “the youth” in the Somali language, but these young men have rejected the rebels' extremist ideology 11. They speak of the fighters with contempt, spitting out the word al-Shabab as they tell how they used all sorts of ruses 12, and traveled circuitous 13 routes along back roads under cover of darkness to avoid the gunmen.
As evening settles in, the sound of children is interspersed 14 with the crackle of short wave radios. This night, the foreign voices are telling of fighting in southern Somalia as the Kenyan soldiers advance, northward 15 toward the strategic port of Kismayo, and of the arrests of suspected al-Shabab militants 16 in Nairobi, where a cache of explosives was found.
A walk through the camp attracts hordes 17 of children, giving a visitor a Pied Piper-ish feeling. These kids have nothing else to do. I have brought a VOA soccer ball, and a bunch of young men who had been playing with a ragged 18 rubber ball eagerly gather round and ask to have their picture taken.
Seeking survival, life
This is one of the few happy moments at the transit center. In a tent nearby, there are few smiles as one family observes the birth of a new son. His nine-month pregnant mother arrived here riding on a donkey, only days before delivering a child who begins life as a refugee.
These 5,000 transit center residents will be relocated within a few weeks, as soon as a new camp is built. The four existing camps are filled to capacity with 125,000 people who have arrived at Dollo Ado since the mass exodus from Somalia began earlier this year.
And word in the camps is that more people are on the way. Those already here say relatives who had stayed behind are now giving up on remaining there, and deciding to attempt the hazardous 19 journey. Life is becoming unbearable 20 as al-Shabab fighters try to burrow 21 in with the local population to hide in the face of the Kenyan army's advance.
By comparison, existing in a tent in a barren desert refugee camp in a foreign land seems pretty good.
- His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
- The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。
- Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
- After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后,压力开始产生影响了。
- The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去,医疗系统面临崩溃。
- Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战,就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。
- This festival descends from a religious rite. 这个节日起源于宗教仪式。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The path descends steeply to the village. 小路陡直而下直到村子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
- a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇
- We had gruel for the breakfast.我们早餐吃的是粥。
- He sat down before the fireplace to eat his gruel.他坐到壁炉前吃稀饭。
- a corrugated iron roof 波纹铁屋顶
- His brow corrugated with the effort of thinking. 他皱着眉头用心地思考。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
- The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。
- 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。
- Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
- We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。
- The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
- The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。
- Buyers use different ruses to wring free credit out of their suppliers. 买主们千方百计想从供货商那儿无息赊购。 来自柯林斯例句
- They took a circuitous route to avoid reporters.他们绕道避开了记者。
- The explanation was circuitous and puzzling.这个解释很迂曲,让人困惑不解。
- Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
- The grass was interspersed with beds of flowers. 草地上点缀着许多花坛。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
- I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。
- The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来,反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
- Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此,巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。
- There are always hordes of tourists here in the summer. 夏天这里总有成群结队的游客。
- Hordes of journalists jostled for position outside the conference hall. 大群记者在会堂外争抢位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
- Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。
- 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。
- It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
- The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。