VOA标准英语2010年-Massive Aid Effort Underway in Haiti

Demonstrators shout "Down with Preval," as anti-riot police block their protest from reaching a police post where government ministers have temporary offices in Port-au-Prince, 11 Feb 2010

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A massive international aid effort is underway in Haiti.  Non-government organizations and international bodies, including the United Nations, have launched an all-out program to vaccinate¹ children and get food to Haitians displaced by the massive earthquake one month ago.  The aid is making a difference, but is still not reaching many of Haiti's neediest people.

Hundreds of thousands of Haitians are living in ramshackle tent communities.  They are seen in small clusters on people's property, and by the thousands in schoolyards and abandoned lots.  The tents are made of bed-sheets and sometimes plastic sheeting, and are a temporary refuge for people whose homes were destroyed and others who are afraid to sleep indoors in the wake of the earthquake.

Rain early Thursday morning drenched² most of the tents in Port-au-Prince.

A Haitian man named Jerry says he is worried about more rains in coming months.  By March, the rainy season should arrive.

He says he is not the only one.  Everyone is worried about the rainy season because rain in Haiti is a big thing.  Whenever it rains, there is a lot of damage, and people are scared.

Aid organizations have distributed food, water and tents.  But it is not enough, and food distribution has been plagued with problems.

A girl balances a bundle on her head as she walks by collapsed³ buildings in earthquake torn Port-au-Prince, 10 Feb 2010

The aid effort is complicated by two things.  Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, and the intense earthquake wreaked⁴ havoc⁵ on Port-au-Prince, the capital city.  It killed an estimated 200,000 people or more, and displaced one million.

Many Haitians have suffered disabling injuries, and medical workers have come to help from many countries.  Doctors aboard the US Navy hospital ship Comfort have saved the lives of hundreds and children and adults.

Aid workers are also concerned about the plight⁶ of displaced children.  Some children find safe haven⁷ at international charity centers like SOS Children's Villages International.  But there are too few facilities like this one.

UNICEF's Kent Page calls the situation a children's emergency.

"Separated children, unaccompanied children, can be vulnerable to people who would exploit them, whether for the child sex trade, whether for domestic servitude, whether just violence or abuse, or whether for illegal trafficking," he said.

Many workers have lost their jobs, and business owners like Marc-Antoine Acra of Acra Industries says some companies may take months to reopen.  He hopes that some of his operations may be up and running in a few weeks.

"Now for the country to be up and running, I would say that's a million dollar question," said Acra.

International aid groups say the rebuilding process will take years, but they say it offers the opportunity for Haiti to build a working infrastructure⁸ that it never had.  They say it will take a coordinated⁹ international effort.
 

1 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

2 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

4 wreaked   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city. 地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• They have wreaked dreadful havoc among the wildlife by shooting and trapping. 他们射杀和诱捕野生动物，造成了严重的破坏。

5 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

6 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。

7 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法