VOA标准英语2009年-Three Years After Eruption, Victims of Ind

Three years ago, burning gray mud erupted from the earth, in the Sidoarjo region of the Indonesian island of Java. Since then, the mud volcano has forced 12,000 families to flee their homes. A drilling company is accused of triggering the eruption¹, but some victims of the volcano are still waiting compensation for their lost property.
　
Resident of village affected² by mud volcano holds mock bank note during protest in Porong, East Java (2008 File)

A year ago, Lilik Kaminah and her two children were living in a scant³ 10 square-meter stall in a deserted⁴ market place, together with 600 other families who had fled the burning mud flow. She called it a tragedy: she lost her land, her house, all of her life savings⁵.

Still waiting

A year later, not much has changed in her life.

In a telephone interview, Lilik explains that she is still waiting for most of the compensation she is entitled to for her lost property. She says the money is the only way for her to start rebuilding her life.

The volcano has swallowed villages and farms, leaving more than 40,000 people homeless.

Lapindo is an Indonesian oil and gas company that was drilling near the epicenter of the volcano. Some geology experts say its drilling may have caused the eruption. Lapindo says the volcano was triggered by an earthquake and denies any responsibility for the disaster. Still, the company has promised to compensate⁶ its victims.

But the global economic crisis hit the Bakrie conglomerate⁷, which owns Lapindo. Yuniwati, a Lapindo representative, says that total payments should be made by 2010.

"We have the intention to settle everything by June [2010]," Yuniwati said, "but unfortunately at this moment we have a global crisis. If it [the compensation] was only borne by Lapindo itself, it would be impossible. That's why Bakrie helps Lapindo."

Court decision deals blow to victims

This week, Indonesia's Supreme⁸ Court rejected a lawsuit⁹ claiming that Lapindo and government officials were to blame for the disaster and failed to fully¹⁰ compensate the victims.

Victims of the mud volcano have no hope of returning to their land. It lies under a huge lake of mud that sprawls¹¹ 640 hectares - twice the size of New York's Central Park - and is still growing.

Sumarsono heads the Indonesian government's mud flow mitigation team. He says that there is no way to predict when the volcano will stop gushing¹². Some have been active for decades.

For now, victims from the mud volcano are organizing demonstrations¹³ to demand their compensation money. For them, it is the only way to get new land, new homes, and their lives back on track.

1 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

2 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。

3 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

4 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

7 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

10 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。

11 sprawls   

n.（城市）杂乱无序拓展的地区( sprawl的名词复数 )；随意扩展；蔓延物v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的第三人称单数 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• The city sprawls out to the west, north and south. 该市向西、北、南方不规则地扩张[延伸]。 来自互联网
• Explanation: Our magnificent Milky Way Galaxy sprawls across this ambitious all-sky panorama. 说明：我们宏伟的银河系蜿蜒穿过这幅高企图心之全天影像。 来自互联网

12 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。