Ration：定量配給

聯(lián)合國世界糧食計劃署12月23日表示，如果得不到及時援助的話，南非將有數(shù)百萬窮人面臨一個忍饑挨餓的圣誕節(jié)。該機構需要籌集630萬美元來緩解萊索托、馬拉維、莫桑比克、斯威士蘭和贊比亞等國明年第一季度的糧食短缺問題。新華社報道如下：Millions of people in Southern Africa are again confronted by the grim prospect of not having enough to eat during the Christmas season and beyond unless donor countries respond quickly with generous cash donations, the World Food Pro gram (WFP) warned on Wednesday.

In a statement issued here, the Rome-based UN agency said it needs an immediate 63 million US dollars to meet food aid needs for the first quarter of 2005 in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zambia, the five core countries affected by emergency food shortages over the last two years.

WFP appealed in October for 404 million dollars in aid to buy food for the five countries in the next three years, but so far ithas received only 2.5 percent of that amount -- about 10 million dollars.

The agency has been steadily cutting rations to more than 2.8 million people in Southern Africa over the last six months, many of them living with HIV/AIDS and many of them children. Most have been surviving on half a normal ration, or less.

Ration表示“定量配給，給養(yǎng)”，尤指物資缺乏時期供給軍隊股役人員或平民的一定量的糧食。例如：an iron/operational ration（軍用干糧）；food ration（食物定量；口糧）；on short rations（處于配給量不足的情況下）；put on rations（實行配給供應制）draw rations（領取給養(yǎng)）。

Ration還可用作動詞，例如：We have to ration the water.（我們必須限量用水。）rationed out flour and sugar（按定量發(fā)放面粉和糧食）。