疫情下的饥饿危机

安徽 张 岚

由于新冠肺炎疫情，世界正面临着大规模饥荒的危险。 新冠肺炎疫情带来的粮食安全问题，也显得越来越紧迫。

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1It's Friday morning in Alexandra township, a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of South Africa's largest city, Johannesburg. Dozens of people are gathered in a field outside a food distribution point, hoping today might be the day they get something to eat.

2“If you're hungry, it's easy to get sick from stress and everything,” says Mduduzi Khumalo, who's been lining up every day for two weeks. To get food, their names have to be on the list. However, despite registering multiple times, his hasn't been.

3Khumalo worked as a delivery man before South Africa's coronavirus lockdown decimated his income. His children used to get two meals a day at school, but schools are closed now. Every day, the kids wait for him at the family's tiny home, and every day he brings the same bad news. “They know that if I don't get anything for them, it's over,” says Khumalo.

4Thandi Lebho, 39, lives in the South African township of Diepsloot. She and her husband and three children have been waiting for food donations for three weeks. They failed to get what they needed when South Africa's lockdown began and her income dried up. She has registered online and by phone. She came to the clinic and registered, but nothing happened. When she managed to get to the food distribution truck, it already ran out of supplies.

5“The kids are not going to school and education is going low. We are struggling to get money because I'm working for myself. I'm not earning anything now,” she said. “I'm starving now. I don't have anything.” She will be back in the food line the next day, trying to get something to keep her family going. “I'm afraid of getting sick, and I'm afraid of starving,” she added.

6There's “a real crisis that more people could possibly die from the economic impact of COVID-19 than from the virus itself”, warned David Beasley, director of the United Nations World Food Programme.

Reading Check

Ⅰ. Fill in the table with only one word for each blank.

People Background Challenges Emotions Mduduzi Khumalo❖ A resident in Alexandra township❖ A former 1. man He and his children are in need of 2. .He brings the same 4.news every day.Solutions Results❖ He has been 3. up every day for two weeks.❖He has registered multiple times.5.10.A resident at 39 with her husband and three children in Diepsloot She failed to get what her family needed when South Africa's 6.began and her income dried up.She has 7.online and by phone.She 8._______to get food supplies.David Beasley 9. of the United Nations World Food Programme Worried/Concerned

Ⅱ. Discussion

Hearing about the experience of Mduduzi Khumalo and Thandi Lebho amid the crisis, what would you say to them and their family?

Language Study

Memorize some text-centered chunks

a food distribution point 食物分配点

get sick from stress 因为压力而生病

line up 排队等候

work as 担任……；充当……

used to do 过去常常（而现在不）……

fail to do sth 未能做成某事

dry up 耗尽

run out of 花光……；用完……

be afraid of 害怕……；担心……