斯里兰卡：生命与社会次序

 

Sri Lanka: Lives and the Social Order

斯里兰卡：生命与社会次序

 

The Tamil Tigers, as the rebels in Sri Lanka are known, were awaiting a possible clash with government forces. Instead they were confronted with something far worse, massive waves that struck their community with particular force. Visiting UNICEF director Carol Bellamy said no sight was more poignant² than women by the sea awaiting the return of the bodies of their children.

 

Amid this calamity³, there was no talk of war. Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga took control of disaster relief and pledged to cooperate with the Tigers. The elusive⁴ Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran made a plea for help after 135 children at an orphanage⁵ were drowned. The devastation⁶ caused by this tidal surge has exacerbated⁸ the sufferings of our people already affected⁹ by a war that has continued for over 20 years and has torn asunder¹⁰ our nation.

 

It is vital for the government to work with the Tamils, says T. M. K. Samat, a journalist in Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka.

 

Mr. Samat: A disaster of this magnitude is something new to Sri Lanka. How the government copes with it is a new experience. It is a learning process for them. Now the water is receding¹¹, and they are going through the process of removing the debris¹², and in the process they are discovering more bodies. How it will all end up only time will tell.

 

Mr. Samat says the disaster has taken the fight out of both rebels and government -- at least for now. They share a common grief and exhaustion¹³.

 

Mr. Samat: They seem to be far more willing to start negotiating on the peace process than before. The government is very keen to get the peace process going because so much aid is attached to that. There is a four billion dollar aid pledge given by the international community depending on the peace process starting.

 

Mr. Samat cautions that officially talks have not begun. Sri Lankans must first recover from the wreckage¹⁴ of their lives and possessions, a long, onerous¹⁵ undertaking¹⁶. But they will not be able to think or talk as they did before the tragedy.

 

Mr. Samat: It has awakened¹⁷ them to certain realities - that you cannot have division within the country and get the country moving forward. Against that background, the disaster is a bit of a blessing¹⁸. It could bring the two sides together, the Tamils as well as the Sinhalese. There is a very perceptible optimism that things might get better.

 

That is possible, says Diane Davis, professor of Political Sociology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has studied the political impact of the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City. It discredited¹⁹ the autocratic government that had ruled the country for 71 years, especially when its military stole aid packages intended for victims.

 

To avoid such a breakdown²⁰, she says the Sri Lankan Government must act fast and reliably.

 

Professor Davis: The government could turn this into a golden opportunity to create new channels of communication, new institutions of solidarity²¹ and help. It could be a peace-making opportunity through the lens of the earthquake and tsunami²² disaster. In some ways it allows both sides to move beyond the stubbornness of the past to think about the larger good.

 

Such a disaster can move people in one of two directions - toward greater unity¹ or greater fragmentation, says Paul Saffo, Director of the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, California.

 

Mr. Saffo: The response of the government and various groups during the course, is going to determine the outcomes. I would imagine that, for example, in areas of greatest concern, Aceh problems, you know, and Sri Lanka, it is going to be kind of a race to see who can help the people better, the rebels or the establishment.

 

Or maybe it is a race both can win. That was the case with Greece and Turkey, says Michael Glantz, who deals with early warning systems at the National Center for Atmospheric²³ Research.

 

In a New York Times article, he cites the 1999 earthquakes in Turkey that took 17 thousand lives. The first country to offer aid was its sworn enemy Greece. This led to improved relations, talks over disputed Cyprus and no Greek objection to Turkey joining the European Union. As the Greek foreign minister put it: " We are all human."

 

For focus, this is Ed Wanner²⁴, the script was written by Freshta Azizi.

 

注释：

Sri Lanka [sri5lANkE] n. 斯里兰卡(南亚岛国)

UNICEF [5ju:nisef] abbr. United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund 联合国儿童基金会

poignant [5pCinEnt] adj. 令人痛苦的

tidal [5taidl] adj. 潮汐的，定时涨落的

exacerbate⁷ [eks5AsE(:)beit] vt. 恶化，增剧，使加剧

asunder [E5sQndE(r)] adv. 分离，成碎片

Colombo [kE5lQmbEu] n. 科伦坡(斯里兰卡首都)

wreckage [5rekidV] n. 遭难

onerous [5CnErEs] adj. 繁重的，费力的

Sinhalese [siNhE5li:z] n. 僧伽罗人(语)

Cyprus [5saiprEs] n. (地中海东部一岛)塞浦路斯

1 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

2 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

3 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

4 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

5 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

6 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。

8 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 asunder   

adj.分离的，化为碎片

参考例句：

• The curtains had been drawn asunder.窗帘被拉向两边。
• Your conscience,conviction,integrity,and loyalties were torn asunder.你的良心、信念、正直和忠诚都被扯得粉碎了。

11 receding   

v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• Desperately he struck out after the receding lights of the yacht. 游艇的灯光渐去渐远，他拼命划水追赶。 来自辞典例句
• Sounds produced by vehicles receding from us seem lower-pitched than usual. 渐渐远离我们的运载工具发出的声似乎比平常的音调低。 来自辞典例句

12 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

13 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

14 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

15 onerous   

adj.繁重的

参考例句：

• My household duties were not particularly onerous.我的家务活并不繁重。
• This obligation sometimes proves onerous.这一义务有时被证明是艰巨的。

16 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

17 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

19 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

20 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

21 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

22 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

23 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

24 wanner   

adj.苍白的( wan的最高级 )；无血色的；病态的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• Mu ofof a fruit is help times Wanner AOL establish structure of a first-rate. 蒂姆将帮助时代华纳为AOL确立一个最佳的结构。 来自互联网