VOA标准英语2010年-US Military Committed to Haiti Aid Eff

The Haiti earthquake created a huge and urgent need for water, food, medicine and other services - a need that required an international governmental and private response.  But the only organization with the kind of capability² to deliver the magnitude of relief supplies and personnel that were needed was the U.S. military. 

It is not unusual for the U.S. military to respond to a disaster like the Haiti earthquake.  The military sent relief to the Asian Tsunami³ in 2004, Hurricane Katrina in the southern United States in 2005 and many other natural disasters.

"We're training for readiness which includes trauma⁴ and war surgery.  We're also trained to do humanitarian⁵ assistance," said Vice¹ Admiral Adam Robinson, the Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy.  He is responsible for providing the thousands of Navy doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who sped to Haiti on ships and aircraft to care for the wounded.  The U.S. Navy's hospital ship Comfort is the largest of the medical facilities, and is now anchored just off shore near Port-au-Prince, able to handle as many as 1,000 patients.

Other U.S. military services are providing medical help on shore, operating the airport, working to re-open the sea port, transporting thousands of tons of supplies, and helping⁶ distribute them by road and helicopter throughout the Haitian capital and beyond.

The effort has been remarkably⁷ smooth.  Although there are reports of shortages in some areas, the distribution has been generally lacking in violent incidents or confrontations⁸.  The commander of the U.S. military relief effort in Haiti, Lieutenant⁹ General Ken¹⁰ Keen, says his troops made a particular effort to make clear to the people they are there to help, not to conquer.

"In most cases we have sufficient translators to get them to platoon level, if not lower, both French and Creole, so that we can communicate effectively with the civic¹¹ leaders, explain to them what we're doing, so they understand what we're there for and what we're trying to accomplish," he said.

Admiral Robinson of the Navy medical corps¹² says anyone who is concerned the U.S. military will stay any longer than it is needed or wanted will just have to watch and see what happens in the coming months, which he says will mirror what the military did in Indonesia and elsewhere.

"I think that everyone will see, and this is where you're going to have to just look at our actions.  We'll move in.  We'll help.  And then we're going to move out," he said.

Still, Admiral Robinson estimates the Haitians will need help for six to 12 months, although less help than the more than 20 ships and 20,000 troops that are on land and at sea in the area now.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell says top officials are discussing the future of the U.S. military and civilian¹³ role in Haiti, now that the immediate¹⁴ needs have largely been taken care of and systems are in place for aid to continue to flow.

"We as a government and we as a military are committed to seeing this through and helping the Haitian people get back on their feet after this horrific natural disaster.  But what precisely¹⁵ that means, and how many forces are there doing what kinds of things for how long and at what kind of expense, are precisely the discussions that are being had within this building and within the administration right now," he said.

But Admiral Robinson says there is no rush to leave before the job is done.

"From a military medical perspective, we're going to stay down [there] as long as it takes in order to make sure that we have competent medical help for the people that need it," he said.

So for now, and for the foreseeable future, the effort continues, with U.S. troops working alongside American civilians¹⁶, troops and civilians from other countries, and with Haitians themselves, to help the country's people recover from the devastating¹⁷ earthquake.

 

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

3 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

4 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

5 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。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

8 confrontations   

n.对抗，对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时，这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定，第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句

9 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

10 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

11 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

12 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

13 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

14 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。

15 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

16 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

17 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。