2006年VOA标准英语-UN Mobilizes Huge Relief Operation in Java

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
30 May 2006

United Nations aid agencies are mobilizing a huge relief operation for the hundreds of thousands of people affected¹ by the devastating² earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Java Saturday. The quake killed more than 5,000 people and left an estimated 200,000 homeless. 

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An earthquake victim waits at his family's home on Tuesday, May 30, 2006, near Bantul  
  

The United Nations office that is coordinating³ the relief effort says the situation is under control despite the complexity⁴ of the operation. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Byrs says coordination⁵ centers have been set up in the city of Yogyakarta, the epicenter of the quake, in the nearby town of Bantul and at the airport.

She says the response to the disaster was efficient and rapid. U.N. staff members working on tsunami⁶ relief in Indonesia and soldiers from the Indonesian army were immediately dispatched to Java. But Ms. Byrs says many problems lie ahead.

"It is the logistic problem, the rains, the communications, the storage, the congestion⁷ of the airport and the airstrip and all these usual problems that we meet when there is a disaster," she said.  

  
  
Damaged roads, heavy storms and rain are complicating⁸ the relief effort. Telecommunications are down. Supplies of water and electricity have been affected. Nevertheless, aid is pouring into the area.

Some 400 volunteers and staff from the Indonesian Red Cross who were stationed at Mt. Merapi, a volcano located near Yogyakarta, quickly went to the earthquake zone. A spokeswoman for the International Red Cross Federation⁹, Anna Nelson, says the volunteers have treated at least 4,000 injured people. She says various Red Cross societies have rushed tons of food and non-food supplies to the region.

"We have a water and sanitation¹⁰ unit on the way which should arrive within the next two days and can produce 600,000 liters of drinking water per day," she said. Two-thousand tents have arrived in the earthquake zone and another 10,000 are on their way. In addition the International Federation has deployed¹¹ three, what we call, emergency response units to provide assistance in the areas of logistics relief and information and telecommunications."

The World Food Program already has dispatched 70 tons of high-energy biscuits and packets of noodles to the victims. Spokesman, Simon Pluess says a big chartered plane arrived in Java Tuesday carrying more food and tons of non-food items such as blankets, tents, generators¹² and water pumps.

"Our assessment¹³ teams on the ground have indicated that around 100,000 people were directly affected by the earthquake and may require food aid for about two to three months," he said. "The markets in Bantul and Klaten are still closed. That means that all these people who have lost their own food stocks in the earthquake will rely on the emergency food rations¹⁴."

The U.N. children's fund says about 40 percent of the victims are under 18 years of age. The agency has set up a child center in Bantul to provide trauma¹⁵ counseling and recreation for children.

The World Health Organization is setting up a disease surveillance system to detect and control outbreaks of communicable diseases. It also will help organize vaccination¹⁶ campaigns against measles¹⁷, a major killer¹⁸ of children.

1 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。

2 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。

3 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

4 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

5 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。

6 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。

7 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

8 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

9 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

10 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

11 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

12 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

14 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。

15 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。

16 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

17 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

18 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。