- 英语听力
- 加入收藏
- 听力课堂 www.TingClass.com 最大的在线英语听力网站，为了下次能再来学习，请牢记本站 www.TingClass.com 的网址
This is Steve Emberwith the VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS.
On Thursday, three huge American Air Force transport planes tookoff from Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Each plane carried largepaper boxes packed with small yellow containers of food. Severalhours later, the planes dropped the food to hungry refugees innorthern Afghanistan.
These almost daily drops of food began October Seventh. Sincethen about nine-hundred-thousand meals have been dropped inAfghanistan from the American airplanes. Each of the yellowcontainers is called a Humanitarian Daily Ration. Each includesenough food to feed one person for one day.
The United States has dropped more than eight million containersof food since Nineteen-Ninety-Three to help feed refugees in Iraq,Bosnia, Rwanda and Haiti.
The dropping of food by airplanes is part of President's Bush'sthree-hundred-twenty-million dollar aid program for the people ofAfghanistan. The president has ordered the Defense Department toprovide food to areas of Afghanistan where people lack food.
Many Afghans were already in danger of starving this winterbecause of three years of lack of rain and continued civil war.Thousands of Afghans have fled from cities to the northern mountainareas since the American attacks against the Taleban began threeweeks ago.
President Bush has explained repeatedly that military action inAfghanistan is a war against terrorists and the Taleban governmentthat protects them. He says the military action is not aimed at thepeople of Afghanistan.
Several aid organizations have criticized the American plan todrop food from airplanes. Aid workers say the food does not reachthe people who need it most. They say most of the food is being soldby strong healthy men who seize it.
Yet reporters have talked to refugees who have collected foodcontainers dropped by American airplanes. One man said it was thefirst time in many months that he and his family have had enough toeat.
On Wednesday, American intelligence reports said it is possiblethe Taleban might try to poison the dropped food and blame theAmerican government. A Taleban spokesman dismissed the report. TheTaleban recently seized United Nations storehouses filled with foodin Kabul and Kandahar. The food was being held for Afghan civilians.
Food will continue to be extremely important in Afghanistan.International aid organizations are appealing to all sides in theconflict to stop blocking aid trucks. They say the cold winterweather will arrive soon and the lack of food will have a severeeffect on all civilians in Afghanistan.
This VOA Special English program IN THE NEWS was written by PaulThompson. This is Steve Ember.