VOA标准英语2008年-UN Chief Urges Burma to Accept Foreign Aid Work

By Margaret Besheer
United Nations
07 May 2008

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging the government of Burma to speed the arrival of aid workers and relief supplies to the cyclone¹-devastated country. From United Nations headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

In a statement Wednesday, Mr. Ban's office welcomed the news that some U.N. aid officials would be allowed into Burma on Thursday, but urged the military government to quickly open its borders to more aid workers and supplies.

U.N. humanitarian² chief John Holmes told reporters it would be helpful if Burma - also known as Myanmar - waived³ visa and customs requirements, at least in these early days of the disaster.

"It's been done in other circumstances," he said. "I think I mentioned it was done in the cases of the Iran and Pakistan earthquakes. It is not a universal practice but it makes life much easier, because the more you can reduce the bureaucratic⁴ obstacles, the quicker the aid can get in, the more likely you are to save lives and help people."

Burma's military government has come under international criticism for not issuing visas to aid workers, hindering relief efforts. But Holmes said the U.N. and some other agencies are making progress in persuading the government to issue more visas - although none have been issued yet.

"We are discussing that with the authorities," he said. "I think we are moving in the right direction, and I think we will continue to make progress because clearly we need to."

The U.N. has about 1,600 mostly local personnel in Burma, but many are not experts in disaster relief efforts. The U.N. hopes to send in additional staff to help the Burmese government coordinate⁵ the distribution of aid and to assess what will be the longer-term needs of the population.

Holmes said a U.N. disaster coordination⁶ team of four Asian nationals, who do not require visas, have clearance⁷ to fly to Burma on Thursday, but a fifth non-Asian team member is still awaiting a visa.

Burma's government says it will accept international aid, and Holmes said that offers totaling more than $30 million have poured in from more than two dozen countries.

Saturday's cyclone killed more than 22,000 people and left more than a million homeless. Some 42,000 others are still missing. Holmes warned that the death toll⁸ could rise significantly.

1 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

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 waived   

v.宣布放弃( waive的过去式和过去分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等）

参考例句：

• He has waived all claim to the money. 他放弃了索取这笔钱的权利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I waived the discourse, and began to talk of my business. 我撇开了这个话题，开始讲我的事情。 来自辞典例句

4 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

5 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

6 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

7 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

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。