VOA标准英语2010年-UN Says At Least 16 Personnel Killed i

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said late Wednesday that at least 16 U.N. personnel with the peacekeeping mission in Haiti perished in the powerful earthquake that shook the Caribbean nation on Tuesday. Mr. Ban called on the international community to assist the people of Haiti and said the U.N. would be at the forefront of the coordination¹ effort.

Mr. Ban said of the fatalities² that 11 were Brazilian peacekeepers, and the others were police officers - three from Jordan and one each from Argentina and Chad. Fifty-six other personnel have been confirmed injured.

Officials say some 150 others remain unaccounted for, among them the mission's chief, veteran diplomat³ Hedi Annabi. There have been reports that he is dead, but Mr. Ban said the U.N. is still working to confirm his status.

To the Haitian people, Mr. Ban had this message: "To the people of Haiti I say this: We are with you. We are working quickly, as fast as humanly possible."

The U.N. chief said what is most urgently needed now are well-equipped search and rescue teams.

"People buried under the rubble⁴ are still alive. We must save them, as many as possible, and we must move immediately," he said.

Brian Wagner, a VOA correspondent who arrived in Haiti Wednesday evening, reported seeing planes from several countries, including some military aircraft, as well as emergency crews and supplies.

The United Nations says that the airport is "fully⁵ operational" despite heavy damage to the control tower. Both U.N. and U.S. officials have confirmed that the Americans will take control of airport operations once their teams are in place.

As part of his coordination efforts, Mr. Ban spoke⁶ Wednesday with U.S. President Barack Obama, who he said assured him that he would deploy⁷ "all possible, available resources" to help overcome the crisis.

Former President Bill Clinton is the U.N.'s Special Envoy⁸ for Haiti. He met with Mr. Ban at U.N. headquarters and then accompanied him to a meeting of member states, at which he urged individuals and countries to be generous in their support of Haiti.

The United Nations is usually in the frontlines of disaster response, but this catastrophe⁹ has been different, in that the helpers are also among the victims. U.N. Peacekeeping Chief Alain LeRoy told reporters that the earthquake could lead to the one of the highest ever fatalities in a U.N. peacekeeping mission.

"It is clearly one of the most horrible tragedies for a U.N. peacekeeping mission," he said.  "We are receiving dozens and dozens of volunteers from other peacekeeping missions who are offering their services, who want to go to Haiti to help. So we have received a lot of solidarity¹⁰ among the U.N. family, but of course it is one of the most tragic¹¹ days for U.N. peacekeeping."

But for now, U.N. staff are putting aside their own grief and putting their energy into saving those who can be saved and easing the plight¹² of some three million people who were in the earthquake's path.

1 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。

2 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

4 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。

5 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。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

8 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

9 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

10 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

11 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

12 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。