VOA标准英语2008年-Red Cross Issues Multi-Million Dollar Appeal fo

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
07 May 2008

The International Federation¹ of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is appealing for nearly $6 million to help cyclone² victims in Burma. The Red Cross says this preliminary appeal will deal with emergency needs and will be followed by a much larger appeal, once the full extent of the disaster is known. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Red Cross headquarters in Geneva.

The International Red Cross calls this a monumental disaster. It says the full extent of the devastation³ wrought⁴ by Cyclone Nargis has yet to be assessed. But, what is known is very disturbing.

Burmese officials report more than 22,000 people have been killed and more than 40,000 others are missing. These figures would make Nargis the world's deadliest storm since 1991.

The Red Cross reports 95 percent of houses in villages along the Irrawaddy River Delta⁵ have been destroyed. It says more than a million people are homeless. Aid workers report roads are blocked, making it impossible for them to reach many devastated⁶ areas. They say communications, electric power lines, water and sanitation⁷ systems are down.

Red Cross spokesman Matt Cochrane tells VOA cyclone survivors⁸ need everything. They need emergency shelter to keep them dry. They need food. He says stagnant⁹ waters are a perfect breeding ground for the malaria¹⁰ mosquito, so insecticide-treated nets are needed. He warns the risk of epidemics¹² is great.

"We are really looking to get purification tablets in and potable water out to these affected¹³ communities as quickly as possible," he said. "There is always a risk in a disaster like this that, if clean water does not get out to communities very quickly, then you run the risk of a second disaster of serious outbreaks of water-borne diseases."

Polluted water can cause cholera¹⁴ and an epidemic¹¹ of diarrhea, a major killer¹⁵ of children under five.

Burmese officials are suspicious of foreign interference and experts from international aid agencies are having difficulty in getting the visas they need to enter the country. Relief agencies are calling on the government's military rulers to relax restrictions¹⁶ so that life-saving operations can get fully¹⁷ underway.

Meteorologists say cyclones¹⁸ can be predicted with great certainty 48 hours before they occur. The government of Burma is being criticized for not having alerted its people of the impending¹⁹ storm early enough for them to take action that could have saved lives.

Matthew Cochrane says he cannot speculate on these reports. But, he agrees that early warning is of vital importance.

"In the lead-up to this disaster, we had been working with the Myanmar [Burmese] Red Cross to preposition stocks as we do in many countries in southeast Asia as the monsoon²⁰ season and the storm seasons approach," he said. "We preposition stock in areas vulnerable to flooding and storms... But, I think again you have got the absolute point that it is always so much more effective to respond to a disaster before it happens than to have to respond once it has happened and it claims so many lives and displaced so many people."

Cochrane says the federation's regional disaster management coordinator²¹ has arrived in Burma and that this will make the humanitarian²² operation more effective. He says a plane with emergency shelter kits²³ from Kuala Lumpur arrived in the country Wednesday.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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》

4 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

5 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

6 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

7 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。

8 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

9 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

10 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

11 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

12 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

15 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

16 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

17 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

18 cyclones   

n.气旋( cyclone的名词复数 )；旋风；飓风；暴风

参考例句：

• The pricipal objective in designing cyclones is to create a vortex. 设计旋风除尘器的主要目的在于造成涡旋运动。 来自辞典例句
• Middle-latitude cyclones originate at the popar front. 中纬度地区的气旋发源于极锋。 来自辞典例句

19 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

20 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

21 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？

22 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。

23 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。