2006年VOA标准英语-Southeast Asian Nations Meet to Discuss Smoke f

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Jakarta
13 October 2006
 
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Environment ministers from ASEAN countries at the beginning of their meeting on the annual haze¹ problem, Oct. 13, 2006   
  
Southeast Asian environment ministers, meeting in emergency session in Indonesia, have agreed that more urgent measures are needed to battle the annual haze blanketing the region from brush-clearing fires.

Each year, farmers and large companies on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the Indonesian section of Borneo set hundreds of fires, as a cheap way to clear land.

The smoke from the fires covers not only the areas where the fires start, but also drifts over into neighboring Malaysia and Singapore, and the cloud of smoke - generally referred to as "haze" - can be choking.
 
 
An Indonesian man rows his boat on Kapuas river amid haze from burning brush fires, in Pontianak, Borneo island, Indonesia, Oct. 5, 2006.
  
Over the past few weeks the smoke from the fires has been so serious that governments have issued health warnings and, in some places, urged people to stay inside.

Environment ministers from Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand held an emergency meeting Friday in the Sumatran city of Pekanbaru, one of the areas worst hit by the choking haze, to try to figure out what to do about it.

The ministers issued a statement saying they would take steps to solve the recurring² problem, but without providing details.

However, Yuri Thamrin, a spokesman for the Indonesian Foreign Ministry³, gave some idea of what the agreement entails⁴.

"It identifies elements of cooperation, both for prevention and mitigation of forest fires," he said. "It has adopted concrete concepts and ideas, for instance establishing a regional fund, in which all member countries, all ASEAN countries, contribute something to be used for mitigation and prevention."

Indonesia, facing criticism for its repeated failures to prevent the annual haze, only agreed this week to ratify⁵ a Southeast Asian pact⁶ that calls for regional cooperation to fight the fires.
 

The Petronas Twin Tower, Kuala Lumpur's major landmark⁷, shrouded⁸ in haze, Oct. 6, 2006  
  
The statement from Friday's emergency meeting urged Indonesia to finalize⁹ the pact.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono earlier this week apologized for the smoke, while teams of firefighters tried to put out the blazes.

But officials say relief will only come with the annual rains, which are scheduled to arrive within the next few weeks.

Rully Sumanda, forest campaign manager for the Indonesian environmental group WALHI, says the Indonesian government has not been equipped to fight the fires.

"The dangerous thing is, until now, the government of Indonesia doesn't have enough infrastructure¹⁰ to stop the forest fire, doesn't have enough good policy to stop the fires," he said.

While slash-and-burn clearing of land is illegal in Indonesia, few people have ever been jailed for the offense¹¹.

1 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

2 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 entails   

使…成为必要( entail的第三人称单数 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需

参考例句：

• The job entails a lot of hard work. 这工作需要十分艰苦的努力。
• This job entails a lot of hard work. 这项工作需要十分努力。

5 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

6 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

7 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

8 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

11 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。