2006年VOA标准英语-US Navy and Marines Help Treat Injured Aft

By Chad Bouchard
Jogjakarta, Indonesia
01 June 2006

Aid organizations and foreign governments are providing field hospitals and medical care for those injured in Central Java's devastating¹ quake. The U.S. Marines and Navy are among those who have rushed to provide help. Doctors are now focusing on infections and complications from unattended wounds

The U.S. Marines 3rd Expeditionary Force is looking for injured among the remains³ of villages shaken to rubble⁴ in Central Java's 6.3 magnitude earthquake.

A medical unit from the Expeditionary Force of 100 Navy and Marine² medical and support staff stands ready to set bones, treat burns and perform surgery in a field hospital in Bantul, at the center of the quake zone. They erected⁵ medical tents in a football stadium Wednesday, but only a few patients have trickled⁶ in on their own.

Commander Carlos Godinez says the Navy doctors decided⁷ to make some house calls. Among those discovered at an overcrowded medical facility is a 25-year-old woman, Ctsiti Nuriyoni, who was crushed when a wall fell across her chest.

After several days in the open, her condition has worsened. Her baby died in the earthquake, but her husband has not yet been able to tell her. A chest tube meant to help her breathing has caused an infection. Godinez describes the problems she faces.

"Infection is a big problem here, and, when there's a fracture involved, there's always a possibility of infection of the bone, and, when that happens, it threatens the limb, and even the life of the patient. In a lot of cases, five days is really too long," he said.

More than 6,000 people died in the earthquake, which struck early Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless by the quake, the third major one to hit Indonesia in less than 18 months.

Although aid from around the world has begun to pour into Indonesia, including field hospitals from several countries, thousands of victims are in need of help.

Chuck Wright is the regional medical officer for the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta. He says getting medical care to patients in outlying areas is the biggest challenge facing aid organizations. But even those who make it to the hospital are not guaranteed timely care.

"Well, the system is overwhelmed," he said. "I mean, they aren't used to seeing so many people all at once, and the hospitals just can't handle it, that's why there's people we are seeing out here in the hallways and all over the place, and surgery is delayed, they are just overwhelmed."

The World Health Organization on Wednesday appealed for donations of orthopedic supplies, such as pins and surgical⁸ plates, citing a shortage of equipment and an urgent need to fix the fractures. The U.N. estimates more than 22,000 patients have been treated in 29 local and field hospitals since the quake.

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 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• 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。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

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 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

6 trickled   

v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 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。