在过去8个月时间里，一场60年一遇的特大旱灾(drought)袭击了云南，持续时间之长、受旱范围之广、程度之重为历史罕见。干旱的严重性使人们再次感受到了人类在自然灾变面前的乏力。

除了饮水，家住云南的农民何中才还要同另一项生存需求做斗争，那就是食物。
besides thirst, yunnan farmer he zhongcai has to battle another basic need - hunger.

今年八月起，旱情持续恶化，何中才家里每天的食物都是一种叫“饿羊草”的野菜，顾名思义，羊饿极了才会吃这种草。
after a seemingly endless drought in xiaowanshan village since august, the daily dish for he's family is a kind of green grass, called eyangcao - it means last choice for a starving sheep.

即使用水浸泡一周的时间，这种草还是带有强烈的涩味。 even after it is soaked in water for a week, the grass has a strong mouth-puckering taste.

受灾群众们正在排队取水

在一些特殊日子里，菜谱上才会出现少许白菜和莴笋，这也是全家菜篮子里的宝贝。
on the menu for special days are the few cabbages and asparagus lettuce, stored like treasure in the family's only basket.

在他家的后院里，一些嫩洋葱靠着生活废水维持着生机，这或许是他今年唯一的收成了。
in he's backyard, wash water keeps several green onions surviving, which might be his only harvest this year.

在离小湾山不远的木央镇金铛村，很多村民已经有六个多月没有洗过澡了。
in jindang village of muyang town, not far from xiaowanshan, most residents have not had a bath for more than six months.

许多灾民遭遇饮用水短缺，图中，小男孩正将桶中的水一饮而尽

21岁的熊桂芬背着6个月大的女儿，她正在排队取水。她表示这些水先来洗菜，洗菜之后来洗脸，洗碗，最后再来喂鸡。
xiong guifen, a 21-year-old carrying her 6-month-old baby girl on her back, was queuing for water, which she said will first be used to wash vegetables, then their faces, dishes and finally, to feed their chickens.

木央镇党委书记张义勇上周日在接受《中国日报》采访时说，每天有22辆运水车负责将180吨的水从镇里运到村上。在城里，一吨水的价格是2.8元（合41美分），而运到村中成本高达159元。
every day, 22 water trucks carry 180 tons of water from towns to villages. a ton of water costs 2.8 yuan (41 us cents) in towns, but transporting it to villages pushes up the cost to 159 yuan, zhang yiyong, head of muyang town, told china daily on sunday.

这次旱灾使得全镇9.3万公顷土地变成不毛之地，约占总种植面积的30%。同时蔬菜价格也上涨了40%。
the severe drought has left more than 93,000 hectares of cropland in the town unproductive, about 30 percent of the total planted area, and also pushed up vegetable prices by 40 percent.

中新社上周日报道说，据官方数字显示，自去年夏天起，我国西南部的云南、广西、四川以及重庆遭遇严重旱灾，受灾群众多达5000万人，约有1600万人口饮水困难。
according to official figures, the severe drought since last autumn has hit yunnan, guangxi, guizhou, sichuan and chongqing in the southwest of the country and affected more than 50 million people, leaving about 16 million without adequate drinking water, china news service reported on sunday.

截至3月17日，直接经济损失超过190亿元，将近100万公顷土地沦为不毛之地。
the direct losses reached more than 19 billion yuan as of march 17 and nearly 1 million hectares of cropland has become unproductive.

预计到下个月，云南、四川、贵州以及广西的旱情仍将持续。
the drought is forecast to continue in yunnan, sichuan, guizhou and guangxi until next month.

贵州当地政府表示，本省有300多万人遭遇饮水与食物的短缺。
according to the guizhou government, more than 3 million people in the province are suffering from hunger and thirst.

遭遇旱情，贵州黄果树瀑布的水量只有原来的1/4

截至3月18日，广西省的77个市县全部受灾，超过220万人口以及100万头牲畜饮水困难。
as of march 18, all the 77 counties and cities in guangxi were affected, and more than 2.2 million people and 1 million head of livestock are suffering from a lack of water.

到目前为止，中央投入抗旱资金3.7亿元。
the total central government allocation for drought relief has so far reached 370 million yuan.

温家宝总理呼吁应立即采取行动赈灾，帮助受灾群众。更多信息请访问：//www.24en.com/
premier wen jiabao has called for intensified efforts to relieve drought and help the affected people.

上周日，温总理结束了为期三天的云南之行。这一天温总理来到受灾最重的曲靖市，慰问当地受灾群众并指导赈灾工作。
during a three-day trip to yunnan province that ended on sunday, wen visited qujing, one of the regions that has suffered the most, to comfort the affected locals and direct relief work.

温家宝总理说：“当前的重中之重是要不惜代价尽快缓解人畜饮水困难，绝不能让一名群众没水喝。”
"the priority at the moment is to ensure drinking water for local people at any cost. not a single person should suffer from a drink water shortage," wen said.

相关词汇

adequate 充分的, 足够的
 
asparagus lettuce 莴苣
 
cropland 耕地，农田
 
drought 干旱
 
severe 极为恶劣的，十分严重的
 
starving 挨饿的
 
unproductive 不毛的,没有出产物的