想要在托福阅读考试中获得高分,平时就要多阅读一些英语类的文章,不断提高理解能力,增加背景知识。今天小编为大家带来的是一篇关于“索马里干旱危机”的托福阅读文章,并对文章进行了详细的分析,大家一起来学习一下吧。
内容提要:
1. 背景知识
2. 词汇学习
3. 文章分析
4. 题目详解
1. 背景知识
(1)索马里气候
东南沿海为平原,亚丁湾沿岸为低地,内陆为高原,北部多山。大部分地区属于热带沙漠气候,西南部为热带草原气候,全境终年高温少雨,河流稀少。
(2)索马里饥荒与难民
Oxfam: Oxford Committee for Famine Relief——牛津饥荒救济委员会
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees——联合国难民高级专员(联合国难民署)
2. 词汇学习
1)drought干旱
造句:The crops failed because of the serious drought in this year.
2)starvation饥饿,饿死
引申1:starve使饥饿,挨饿
引申2:starve for急需,渴望
造句:The lonely students are starving for friendship.
3)arid干旱的,贫瘠的
造句:It is an and region with little vegetation.
引申:semiarid半干旱的
4)malnourished营养不良的
造句:The malnourished children are more likely to die from infections.
联想:malnutrition营养不良
5)brink边沿,悬崖边
造句:Below average rainfall in Somalia has pushed nearly 500,000 people to the brink of starvation.
6)live off以……为食,以……为生
造句:An estimated two million people are living off food aid in Somalia and as the drought continues that number is likely to rise.
7)reprieve死刑缓期执行;暂时缓解
造句:He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.
8)likelihood可能,可能性
造句:I do not think there is any likelihood of recovery from the disease.
9)on the verge of接近于,濒临于
引申:verge边,边缘;濒于
造句1:Some animals in this area are on the verge of extinction.
造句2 : Mohamed warned that 2.5 million people were on the verge of starvation unless given immediate support.
10)raid突然袭击,抢劫
11)humanitarian人道主义的,人道主义
12)war-torn遭受战争破坏的
13)refuge避难所;庇护
14)refugee难民
15)famine饥荒
16)livestock家畜
3.文章分析
Below average rainfall in Somalia has pushed nearly 500,000 people to the brink of starvation. International aid-group Oxfam is warning that more will be affected unless immediate action is taken.
Somalia is in desperate need of aid, says British-based Oxfam International. Reports indicate decreased rainfall in the arid region, and the situation is critical in areas such as Gedo and Juba.
The aid group reports that 25 percent of people in the Gedo region and nearly 30 percent in the Juba region are malnourished due to crop failure and the death of livestock. The group also worries the death of livestock will promote raiding and violence as the crisis deepens.
According to Oxfam Humanitarian Programs representative Peter Kamalingin, the international community does not realize how serious the situation is becoming.
"The crisis is big, it is probably something that is similar to or worse than what we saw in 1992," added Kamalingin."The rains for October to December period were low and there is the likelihood that the next rains, if they come, will be towards the end of March or April. So you have, actually, a period of six months low rain, and for Somalia that is serious."
Oxfam reports that some areas in central and southern Somalia have received less than 15 percent of their typical rainfall in recent months.
An estimated two million people are living off food aid in Somalia and as the drought continues that number is likely to rise. Speaking at the United Nations earlier this month, Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed warned that 2.5 million people were on the verge of starvation unless given immediate support.
There have been relatively few reported deaths as a result of the situation. But Oxfam's Kamalingin says the crisis is far from over.
"The worst of it is yet to come, and that is where the fear is," added Kamalingin. "We know that so far there have been deaths of livestock. We know that in some parts there have already been reports of limited deaths, not yet as bad. But if you consider that this is still January and the next rains are only expected in March, I think the next two months are going to be serious."
For those in the south, their only reprieve maybe the war-torn capital, Mogadishu. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees recently estimated as many as 12,000 people had recently arrived on the outskirts of the Somali capital in search of food and water.
牛津饥荒救济委员会(Oxfam International)表示,索马里人现在亟需救助。报告显示,索马里干旱地区降雨量减少,盖多和朱巴地区形势危急。
该救助组织报告称,由于作物绝收,牲畜死亡,盖多地区25%的人口,朱巴地区接近30%的人口营养不良。该组织还担心,随着危机加重,牲畜的死亡会导致抢劫和暴力。
据牛津饥荒救济委员会人道主义项目代表Peter Kamalingin所说,国际社会目前还没有意识到问题的严重性。
“危机非常严重,可能类似于1992年的饥荒情况,甚至更加严重。10月份至12月份的降雨量非常少,如果有降雨的话,下一场降雨也要在3月末或4月份才到来。所以,这里的人们将面临六个月降雨量非常少的时间,索马里的情况非常严重。”
Oxfam报道称,近几个月来,索马里中部和南部的降雨量只有不到平时的15%。
索马里接近200万人依靠粮食救助生活,随着干旱现象继续加剧,依靠救助生活的人数还会上升。本月初在联合国发表讲话时,索马里总理穆罕默德·阿卜杜拉希·穆罕默德(Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed)警告称,如果不立即接受援助,250万人将濒临饥饿边缘。
由于目前的形势,报道的死亡数量相对较低。但是Kamalingin表示,这场危机还远远没有结束。
“目前最严重的情况还没有到来,这就是我们最担心的。我们知道,目前为止已经有牲畜死亡。我们知道,有些地方的牲畜死亡数目有限,还不是非常糟糕。但是如果你考虑一下,现在才是1月份,下一场降雨最早在3月份才会到来,我认为未来的两个月形势将会非常严峻。”
对于南方的人来说,唯一一个逃生之处就是战乱的首都摩加迪沙。联合国难民高级专员最近估计,已有12,000人抵达索马里首都边缘寻找食物和水。
4. 题目详解
句子插入题:
①"The rains for October to December period were low. ②And there is the likelihood that the next rains, if they come, will be towards the end of March or April. ③Oxfam reports that some areas in central and southern Somalia have received less than 15 percent of their typical rainfall in recent months.④
So you have, actually, a period of six months of low rain, and for Somalia that is serious.
解析:解答句子插入题,首先观察一下被插入的这句话中是否有代词,如果有的话,就试着找这个代词所指代的内容。如果找到了代词所指代的对象,那么这道题的难度就降低了。但如果句子中没有代词,那么就看这句话中有没有逻辑关系词。就这个句子而言,被插入句中确实有一个代词“that”,它指的是“six months of low rain”,但是原文中并没有对应的内容,所以这种方法就行不通了。那么我们再来看一下逻辑关系词“So(所以)”,暗示前面一定提到了某种原因。那么是什么导致了六个月的少雨时期呢?
首先,第一个位置不能选,因为前面没有提到原因;第一句话说,十月份到十二月份的降雨量是非常低的。根据这句话并不能推出六个月的降雨量低,所以第二个位置也是不合适的;再往后看,第二句话说,如果下次再下雨的话,可能就到三月底或者四月了,这样算下来,中间隔了将近半年的时间是少雨的,正好对应被插入的那句话,所以,被插入句放在第三个位置是合适的。
以上就是小编为大家带来的英语阅读文章分析,希望能给考生的学习带来帮助。最后,小编祝愿各位考生在托福考试中取得好成绩!
您还可能关注:

