2006年VOA标准英语-Environmental Clean-Up Efforts Needed Across Le

By Robert Raffaele
Washington, D.C.
22 August 2006
 
watch Cleanup report

Various agencies are working to clean up the devastation¹ inflicted² on Lebanon's environment, and remove dangerous remnants of the month-long fighting.

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While bulldozers clear rubble³ from bombed-out segments of Lebanon, various organizations are working to restore the nation's environment and decontaminate villages littered with live ammunition⁴.  

 
A scuba⁵ diver shows the oil deposits on the sea floor off the Lebanese coast 
  
The Lebanese division of Greenpeace says there is an urgent need to clean the country's beaches. They have been polluted by an oil spill caused by Israel's bombardment last month of a major coastal⁶ power plant.

Greenpeace says an estimated 10-to-15,000 tons of oil poured into the Mediterranean⁷ Sea, contaminating wide areas of the country's coastline. Video taken underwater shows some of the impact on fish and ecosystems⁸. 

Zeina Al Hajj  
  
Greenpeace Beirut coordinator⁹ Zeina Al Hajj said, "What we've seen is miles and miles of oil suffocating¹⁰ the seabed. This is an indication that the contamination from the oil spill has spread beyond the shore, beyond the water coastline into the underwater. And that is an indication of the urgency needed to deal with this disaster. " 

Explosives experts from a U.K.-based company are deactivating¹¹ and removing unexploded ordnance¹² outside of Tyre. The United Nations sought the help of the Mines Advisory¹³ Group, or M.A.G.  to remove undetonated mortars¹⁴, rockets, and cluster munitions¹⁵, comprised of so-called "bomblets."  

Unexploded bomblets need to be found and disposed of before more civilians¹⁶ are killed or injured  
  
That ammunition is making everyday routines hazardous¹⁷ for villagers, especially children.

M.A.G. spokesman Sean Sutton. "I've known two accidents  where one child was picking grapes and the bomblet fell out of  the vines. Another one with an older, 20-year-old picking apples, again there was a bomblet stuck in the tree and by shaking the tree, the bomblet fell out. Bang, he was dead."

The United Nations' deputy humanitarian¹⁸ chief says some 8500 pieces of unexploded ordnance remain across southern Lebanon.

1 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》

2 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

3 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

4 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

5 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。

6 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

7 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

8 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

9 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

10 suffocating   

a.使人窒息的

参考例句：

• After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.和父母呆了几个星期后，她感到自己毫无自由。
• That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.这样好些了，我刚才在那个小房间里快闷死了。

11 deactivating   

v.解除动员( deactivate的现在分词 )；使无效；复员；使不活动

参考例句：

• Russia is deactivating some of its deadliest missiles. 俄罗斯正在拆除其一些最危险的导弹。 来自辞典例句
• System restart required. Deactivating weapon systems. 系统需要重新启动。关闭兵器系统。 来自互联网

12 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

13 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

14 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

15 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

16 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

17 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

18 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。