斯里兰卡学生尝试恢复照常上课

Students in Sri Lanka Attempt Return to Normalcy

斯里兰卡学生尝试恢复照常上课

 

It's the first day of the new term for students at Sudharma College in the village of Galle on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka.  Many students no longer have the crisp white uniforms they usually wear to classes, so the school headmaster is making an exception to the dress code this term. 

 

It will be some time before students in the damaged school will receive proper care and education.    But the ritual of the first day of the term was something students did not want to miss.

 

Many students lost family members in the tsunami¹.  Some survivors² accompanied their children to school on the first day.  Deepika Kumari says it was very difficult to drop off her children. "I am very afraid to come to school and to bring my children here because it is so close to the sea."

 

But seven-year-old Sayuri tried to assure her mother she wants to return to school. "I am looking forward to going back to school, some of my friends died, but I think all of the teachers survived."

 

Students paused before classes for a moment of silence for their 400 classmates who perished last month and the nearly 50,000 children who died in the 11 Indian Ocean nations pounded by the tsunami.  In the capital city of Colombo, which was spared severe damage from the tsunami, students began their term with a prayer for victims. 

 

Meanwhile, relief continues to arrive in Sri Lanka. U.S. marines have arrived to clear debris³ and pump out contaminated water wells.  International relief arriving in the region includes the Canadian Disaster Assistance Response Team, which will help with water purification and medical needs. Lieutenant⁴ Colonel Michael Voith, says they will help clinics.

 

Michael Voith: We will put our doctors right in those clinics and work with Sri Lankan medical people.

 

More than 90,000 homes were destroyed in Sri Lanka, and in Galle alone nearly 50,000 people are living in refugee camps. The Sri Lankan government has pledged that reconstruction⁵ efforts will begin by the weekend.

 

Kathie Scarrah, VOA news.

 

注释：

ritual [5ritjuEl] n. 典礼

Colombo [kE5lQmbEu] n. 科伦坡，斯里兰卡首都

contaminated [kEn5tAmineitid] adj. 污染的

1 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。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 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。

4 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

5 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。