2007年VOA标准英语-S. Korea Promises Flood-Hit North $40 Million i

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
24 August 2007

South Korea has announced another aid package for North Korea following reports of serious flood damage there. After sending more immediately needed items like water and noodles, Seoul says it will now send heavy materials needed to rebuild the North's flooded infrastructure¹. VOA  Correspondent Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.

South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said Thursday the new aid package amounts to nearly $40 million worth of heavy construction implements². He says South Korean officials decided³ to send cement, iron bars, trucks, fuel, and road paving materials to the North at the soonest possible opportunity.

The announcement comes a day after South Korea transported about $7 million worth of emergency supplies across the border, such as blankets, drinking water, and easy-to-prepare foods.

Photo distributed by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, shows destruction caused by floods in Kangwon, North Korea

International relief agencies say flooding damage in the North has caused a serious humanitarian⁴ crisis. The United Nations World Food Program says damage to agriculture could worsen North Korea's already severe food shortage. WFP representatives are distributing emergency food to hundreds of thousands of North Koreans made homeless by the floods.

North Korea cited flooding as its reason for postponing⁵ a summit with South Korea that would have taken place this week. The meeting is now set for the beginning of October.

Members of South Korea's main opposition⁶ party, the conservative GNP, have been critical of the timing⁷ of the summit, just two months before presidential elections.

Unification Minister Lee dismissed accusations⁸ of summit politics, saying the broader picture of North-South relations is more important. He says South Korea's goal is peace on the Korean peninsula, and economic cooperation is one of the best ways to achieve that goal, because it creates hope in the North.

Lee says the South Korean building materials should all be in place in North Korea by the end of next month.

1 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。

2 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 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。

5 postponing   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He tried to gain time by postponing his decision. 他想以迟迟不作决定的手段来争取时间。 来自辞典例句
• I don't hold with the idea of postponing further discussion of the matter. 我不赞成推迟进一步讨论这件事的想法。 来自辞典例句

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

8 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。