VOA标准英语2010年-UN: Time Running Out for Quake Victims

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says time is running out to rescue people trapped by this week's devastating¹ earthquake in Haiti.  The Red Cross estimates 45,000 to 50,000 people have died in the rubble² and those who survived are in desperate need of food, water and medical care. 

Search and rescue operations are continuing in the earthquake ravaged⁴ Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, but officials say the window of opportunity to save those who are buried is beginning to close.

The United Nations estimates as many as 50 percent of the buildings in the worst-hit areas are damaged or destroyed, leaving some 300,000 homeless.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says many of the capital area's three million people have no food, water, shelter or electricity.

He is appealing for $550 million from the international community to help meet the most immediate⁵ needs.

"A major humanitarian⁶ effort is now well underway," said Ban Ki-moon. "Although it is inevitably⁷ slower and more difficult than any of us would wish, we are mobilizing all resources as fast as we possibly can."

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke⁸ with Haitian President Rene Preval in what Mr. Obama described as an emotional phone call to discuss the crisis.

Mr. Preval was cut off from his government after Tuesday's quake, which heavily damaged the presidential palace and government ministries⁹.

The United States is providing the Haitian president with communications equipment to restore his shattered government and has committed $100 million to the relief effort.

U.S. Navy ships and thousands of troops are arriving to assist with the distribution of aid, but Mr. Obama says it will take time to make sure supplies are delivered safely.

"There are going to be many difficult days ahead," said President Obama. "So many people are in need of assistance, the port continues to be closed and the roads are damaged.  Food is scarce and so is water.  It will take time to establish distribution points so that we can ensure that resources are delivered safely and effectively and in an orderly fashion."

A spokeswoman for the World Food Program, Emilia Casella, says the organization has begun delivering emergency rations³ to victims unable to cook and in need of ready to eat foods.

"What the World Food Program is now looking at is aiming to reach initially¹⁰ about two million people who are affected¹¹ by Tuesday's earthquake with an emergency operation that will start by calling for 14 million humanitarian daily rations which would be enough to feed two million people for about 30 days," said Emilia Casella.

Thousands of bodies are stacked on the streets and sidewalks of Port-au-Prince, and limbs of the dead protrude¹² from the rubble of crushed schools and homes.

VOA's Brian Wagner is in Port-au-Prince:

"There's a stream of pedestrians¹³ through most parts of the city," said Brian Wagner. "When people pass these areas with bodies, they just simply cover their faces with their shirts.  Some of them have surgical¹⁴ masks or other things to cover their noses."

Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who has lived in exile in South Africa after being ousted¹⁵ in a violent rebellion in 2004, says he would like to return home to help reconstruct his country.

"To join the people of Haiti, to share in their suffering, help rebuild the country," said Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says the Obama administration is discouraging visits to Haiti by prominent political figures, including Mr. Aristide.

"The last thing that we need is to have someone land and put an additional burden in an already-stressed situation," said Crowley. "We've sent that same message to our members of Congress."

In a sign of international cooperation, the White House says it has received rare permission from Havana to use Cuban airspace for aid and evacuation flights.
 

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 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。

3 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

4 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 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。

7 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

8 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。

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 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 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。

12 protrude   

v.使突出，伸出，突出

参考例句：

• The tip of her tongue was protruding slightly.她的舌尖微微伸出。
• A huge round mass of smooth rock protruding from the water.一块光滑的巨型圆石露出水面。

13 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

15 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。