VOA常速英语2008年-Aid and Trade Works for Humanitarian Relief

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
02 February 2008

During the past decade, more than 350 million people from around the world have been forced to flee their homes as a result of natural disaster and conflict. When disaster strikes, aid agencies rush food, medicine, shelter and other emergency supplies to the victims. Then they work to reconstruct damaged infrastructure¹ and restore shattered lives.  Humanitarian² relief missions require money and aid related products.  For the third year in a row, Geneva has hosted the Aid and Trade Fair. This unique exhibition brings together aid agencies and the commercial manufacturers of products that are essential for meeting the urgent needs of disaster and conflict-ridden victims. Lisa Schlein attended the trade fair and filed this report from Geneva.

Nearly 250,000 people were killed in the devastating³ Indian Ocean tsunami⁴ on December 26, 2004. In October 2005, a powerful earthquake struck Pakistan, killing⁵ more than 73,000 people. Floods, hurricanes, volcanic⁶ eruptions⁷, wars and other natural and man-made disasters take a terrible toll⁸ in lost lives and destroyed homes.

Survivors⁹ need a wide variety of aid. Shelter for the homeless is always a priority.

At this year's Aid and Trade fair in Geneva, a videotape shows a group of smiling men quickly and easily assembling a house made of a prefabricated, multi-cellular wall system. It is made of galvanized steel. Tall, hollow, rectangular containers are tied together with strong wire mesh¹⁰ coils.

Angelo De Iacovo is Project Manager for Hesco, a company that produces the so-called R House. He explains the rationale behind the invention.

Hesco's R House

"In disaster areas, there are two major factors in the problems that they have there," he noted¹¹.  "One is getting rid of the rubble¹² and clearing the area. And, the second is actually building a new shelter for them to live in. We thought we could combine the two."

De Iacovo says non-skilled people can easily erect¹³ a house for up to eight people in one or two days. And, the best part, he says, is the new shelter is built from the dirt, sand and rocks of the destroyed house. He says the builders simply fill the containers with this debris¹⁴. 

David Covell works for Mobil Medical International, based in the northern U.S. state of Vermont.  He demonstrates his company's product, a cocoon-shaped tent that operates as a mobile hospital.

The tent is equipped with chemical and biological filtering systems. Covell says that in an emergency, where speed is of the essence, two people can set up this mobile field hospital in seven minutes.
 
Covell says the product was developed for the U.S. military and has been purchased by the Oman government.  But the company believes it is a versatile¹⁵ product that could be used for humanitarian purposes.  And that is why it is on display for the first time at Aid and Trade.

"This is not here to market it as a military tool. It is to market it as a tool for Aid and Trade," he said.  "We hope to learn how to break into this market. We hope to learn how maybe to adapt this if necessary to make it more suitable for Aid and Trade. There may be some features that are not necessary to make it less expensive, to make it lighter¹⁶." 

Sian Bowen is communications manager for the International Federation¹⁷ of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.  She says trade fairs that bring together manufacturers and aid professionals are important for bringing the latest products and ideas to the people that need them most.

"It is important that the Federation interacts in a proactive way with the commercial sector¹⁸ so that we can find out what they are doing, what their new ideas are, what they may have that can help us in emergency response," he explained.  "So, it is good to have a two-way dialogue in that respect." 

More than one billion people around the world do not have access to safe water and almost three billion people lack basic sanitation¹⁹. The United Nations reports about half the people in the developing world suffer from diseases caused by contaminated water or food and an estimated 30,000 people are dying every day from unsafe water or food.

The president of U.S.-based Air Water International Corporation, Michael Zwebner, says he has a solution to this problem.  His company's machines, he says, extract the humidity from the air and produce pure drinkable water.

"Our raw material is air," he said.  "There is no charge, freely available, and in infinite amounts.  So, we will never stop making water.  And, our machines produce crystal clear, pure, filtered and very drinkable water.  Probably the best water you can actually drink...from the air, from the atmosphere… Our corporate²⁰ policy and our slogan is, 'If it is good enough to breathe, it is good enough to drink.'"

Zwebner says his product is sold commercially to various military services and to arid²¹ countries in the Gulf²² area.  He says he has come to Aid and Trade to see how to break into the humanitarian market.

Announcements, like this, go on throughout the day.  The heart of the exhibition is the more than 100 displays.  But, the fair also offers a series of workshops that explore issues such as African Development, emergency preparedness, and shelter provision.  Both commerce and education are available at Aid and Trade.

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 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。

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 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。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

7 eruptions   

n.喷发，爆发( eruption的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year. 今年火山爆发了好几次。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Over 200 people have been killed by volcanic eruptions. 火山喷发已导致200多人丧生。 来自辞典例句

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

9 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

10 mesh   

n.网孔，网丝，陷阱；vt.以网捕捉，啮合，匹配；vi.适合； [计算机]网络

参考例句：

• Their characters just don't mesh.他们的性格就是合不来。
• This is the net having half inch mesh.这是有半英寸网眼的网。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 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。

13 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

14 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。

15 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

16 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

17 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

18 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

19 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

20 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

21 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

22 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。