VOA标准英语2008年-As Many as 10,000 Dead in Burma Cyclone

By Luis Ramirez
Bangkok
05 May 2008

Burmese state media say it is now believed that as many as 10,000 people are dead and thousands more missing after Tropical Cyclone¹ Nargis ripped through parts of the country, destroying homes, bringing down power lines and knocking out communications. Earlier figures had put the death toll² far lower. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from our Southeast Asia Bureau in Bangkok.

With some telephone lines working again and the airport at the main city, Rangoon, reopened, reports of death and destruction trickled³ out of Burma Monday, giving a glimpse of the extent of the enormous devastation⁴ the cyclone inflicted⁵ on the impoverished⁶ country.

Among those arriving in Bangkok Monday, on one of the first flights out of Rangoon, was Sweden's former Minister of Democracy and Integration⁷, Jens Orback, who tells VOA the main city is paralyzed.

"The electricity went out," he said. "The telephones didn't work. The TV, the radio, the cellular⁸ telephones, everything was wiped out. When talking to people, they were very upset in the beginning that nobody from the military, from the police, from the fire forces were out on the street. Only private people were there with machetes, actually trying to get rid of the trees.

"I talked to some civilians⁹ on the market and they were a little bit surprised that nobody was doing anything," he added. "Because if there's anything that are very present in Burma otherwise, it's police and military but there were none of them out in the hours after the disaster."

Thousands are homeless, and much of the city remains¹⁰ without water or public transportation.

The few reports coming in from the countryside suggest the devastation is widespread. Burmese state radio said nearly 3,000 people were missing in one town, Bogalay, in the country's Irawaddy River Delta¹¹ - an area believed to be especially hard-hit.

In a rare gesture, at a meeting with foreign diplomats¹² and representatives of U.N. agencies and international aid organizations, the military government said it welcomed humanitarian¹³ assistance . Analysts¹⁴ say the military leadership has in the past refrained from accepting foreign aid for fear of appearing weak.

Burmese officials called for aid including roofing materials, medicine, tents, blankets, and water purifying tablets. Thailand, Burma's neighbor and one of its biggest trading partners, announced it would airlift aid on Tuesday.

The disaster comes at a sensitive time for Burma's military junta¹⁵, which is trying to build credibility in the face of international criticism over its violent crackdown last year on Buddhist¹⁶ monks¹⁷ and other mostly peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators.

The generals say they plan to go ahead with a constitutional referendum next Saturday. They say the vote is another step in the process of returning Burma to democracy following more than four decades of military rule. Members of the international community, including the United States, have called the referendum a sham¹⁸ because the drafting of the document excluded the country's main opposition¹⁹ groups.

Professor Win Min, an expert on Burmese politics at Chiang Mai University in neighboring Thailand, says the government is taking a risk by pushing ahead with the referendum at a time when people are struggling to survive and recover from the disaster.

"Now, people may see nothing to lose and people may even get angry that the government is not really caring about them, but just caring about the referendum," he said. "The urgent need for the people is not the referendum, but relief."

Adding to public frustration²⁰ are rising prices of basic goods. Reports from Rangoon said the price of gasoline and some basic food products quadrupled since the cyclone hit.

The United Nations said it was sending a disaster assessment²¹ team into the country in an effort to mobilize aid. It is not clear how much access the team will have inside Burma. The Burmese authorities normally enforce tight restrictions²² on the movements of aid organizations in the country.

1 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 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》

4 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

6 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

8 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

9 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。

10 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。

11 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

12 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

15 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

16 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

17 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

19 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

20 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

21 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？

22 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制