VOA标准英语2009年-Court Ruling Could Sink Bangladesh Shipbreaking

Environmentalists are hailing a Bangladesh High Court decision to order the closure, in two weeks, of all ship-salvaging¹ yards which do not have environmental clearances². The judges also have banned "toxic³" ships from entering Bangladeshi waters. The much-criticized industry is believed to employ tens of thousands of people in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh High Court has ordered that the country's ship-dismantling operations must close in two weeks if they do not obtain government environmental clearances.
　
Two decomissioned ships sit beached while waiting to be dismantled⁴ at a shipbreaking yard in Alang, some 260 kilometres south of the Indian state of Gujarat's capital, Ahmedabad (File)

Bangladesh is one of the world's top destinations for ships being dismantled for scrap⁵ metals and other materials.

Syeda Rizawana Hasan, the director of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, which filed the public interest litigation, calls the judgement a landmark⁶ decision.

"The court has expressly said Bangladesh cannot be treated as a dumping ground of hazardous⁷ waste," said Hasan. "The court has really tried to address the long-standing inaction by the secretary agencies in regulating the shipbreaking industries in line with international conventions and the national law."

The court chastised⁸ relevant government ministries⁹ for not enforcing environmental laws.

The ruling affects all 36 shipyards which have no environmental certification.

The industry in Bangladesh is expected to appeal the court decision. The judges in their ruling Tuesday also banned any vessels¹⁰ entering Bangladeshi waters that are on the toxic ship list maintained by the non-governmental organization Greenpeace.

Environmental and human rights organizations, for years, have campaigned against the salvaging industry. They contend the vessels being scrapped¹¹ frequently contained toxic materials and safety equipment is not provided for the laborers¹³.

In Bangladesh the industry says it provides for the livelihoods¹⁴, directly or indirectly¹⁵, of 250,000 people.

Lawyer and activist¹⁶ Hasan says that does not mitigate¹⁷ putting at risk so many lives.

"This is not employment. This is exploitation," said Hasan.

International organizations say accidents, resulting in deaths and injuries, frequently occur along the shores of Sitakunda in the Bay of Bengal, home to the industry in Bangladesh. It is considered by many experts to be the world's busiest hub for salvaging of ships.

The "NGO Platform on Shipbreaking" says South Asia's shores are attractive for scrapping¹⁸ vessels because of the cheap labor¹² costs and lax enforcement or lack of environmental and safety standards.

Hundreds of vessels are scrapped annually¹⁹ - mainly in Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.

1 salvaging   

（从火灾、海难等中）抢救（某物）( salvage的现在分词 )； 回收利用（某物）

参考例句：

• A shipping company has made a claim for the cost of salvaging a sunken ship. 某轮船公司要求赔赏打捞沉船的费用。（make a claim 要求）
• It is not uncommon to hear that a shipping company has made a claim for the cost of salvaging a sunken ship. 航运公司为打捞沉船的费用而提出要求，这并非奇闻。

2 clearances   

清除( clearance的名词复数 )； 许可； （录用或准许接触机密以前的）审查许可； 净空

参考例句：

• But I can't get to him without clearances. 但是没有证明我就没法见到他。
• The bridge and the top of the bus was only ten clearances. 桥与公共汽车车顶之间的间隙只有十厘米。

3 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

4 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

5 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

6 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

7 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。

8 chastised   

v.严惩（某人）（尤指责打）( chastise的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He chastised the team for their lack of commitment. 他指责队伍未竭尽全力。
• The Securities Commission chastised the firm but imposed no fine. 证券委员会严厉批评了那家公司，不过没有处以罚款。 来自辞典例句

9 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

10 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

12 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

13 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

14 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

15 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

16 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

17 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

18 scrapping   

刮，切除坯体余泥

参考例句：

• He was always scrapping at school. 他在学校总打架。
• These two dogs are always scrapping. 这两条狗总是打架。

19 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。