2006年VOA标准英语-Relief Operations Swing into Gear in Quake-Stri

By Chad Bouchard
Yogyakarta
30 May 2006
 

Volunteers unload emergency aid from the United States near Bantul, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 30, 2006  
  
Officials in Indonesia say more than 5,400 people have now died from Saturday's earthquake and the rush is on to get aid to the survivors¹. Relief operations are taking on added importance as a nearby volcano is threatening to erupt.

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French, Japanese, and British aid groups landed planes at the Adisucipto airport in Yogyakarta Tuesday morning - wheeling crates³, bags, and coolers mostly containing medical supplies.

Jacqueline Koch, a communications officer for the British group, Merlin, says they had flown in a ton of medicine and equipment Sunday, and more is on the way.

"We're working with mobile clinics and from what I understand those mobile clinics are also overwhelmed," she said. "So I think the need for medical aid is the greatest right now, I think that's the biggest issue."

There is also serious need for food and clean water. The U.N.'s World Food Program delivered 140 metric tons of food staples⁴ Monday, followed by a cargo⁵ plane with nearly 40 tons of tents, blankets, and water purifiers Tuesday.

W.F.P officials say at least 100,000 people are relying on emergency rations².

Yogyakarta airport operations director, Gatot Sugiantoro, says he is just glad to see help arrive.

"Because we still have a lot of victims, especially in Bantul, that's why I hope there will be a lot more of the aid coming in," he said.

The airport - which was damaged in the quake -resumed service Monday allowing 36 aid flights to land.

Yogyakarta is known throughout Indonesia as a cultural and educational center. Sugiantoro says the earthquake won't change that.

"In my opinion, yeah, I'm sure that in the future we will return to a normal situation again. But we have to be patient, because step by step we have to reconstruct again," he said. "And everybody, especially for the Yogyakarta people, you know, the culture is patience. Smiling, and then praying."

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is at the quake site to supervise⁶ relief operations. His government has set aside more than $100 million to help victims recover.

Meanwhile, about 20 kilometers away, the volcano at Mount⁷ Merapi has become more active since the quake, with scientists predicting an eruption⁸ could come at any time. While not expected to directly affect Yogyakarta, it would heavily tax relief services already struggling here in central Java.

1 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

2 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

3 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

4 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

5 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

6 supervise   

v.监督，管理，指导

参考例句：

• We must supervise and speed up the fulfilment of assigned tasks.已经布置了的工作，应当认真督促检查。
• Tomorrow he will supervise all the pupils taking the English examination.明天全体学生考英语，他将担任监考。

7 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

8 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。