VOA慢速英语2015 印尼呼吁邻国助其扑灭森林火灾（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2015-10-16 Indonesia Asks Neighbors to Help Fight Forest Fires 印尼呼吁邻国助其扑灭森林火灾

The president of Indonesia is asking for foreign help to fight forest and agricultural fires in his country.

印度尼西亚总统呼吁外国帮助其扑灭森林和农田大火。

Until now, Indonesia had repeatedly refused offers of help from overseas to fight the smoky fires. The country has faced sharp criticism for rejecting offers of assistance from Singapore, its neighbor.

在此之前，印尼多次拒绝海外帮其扑灭熊熊大火。由于拒绝邻国新加坡的救援物资，印尼受到严厉批评。

President Joko Widodo said on Thursday that the Indonesian government was asking for help from Singapore and three other countries. The three are Russia, Malaysia and Japan.

印尼总统佐科·维多多(Joko Widodo)于周四表示，印尼政府向新加坡和三个其他国家求助，包括俄罗斯，马来西亚和日本。

The president said that Indonesian helicopters are only able to carry a small amount of the water needed to put out the fires. The Associated Press reported his comments.

总统表示，印尼直升飞机只能运输灭火所需的少量水。美联社报道了他的话。

The Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space says more than 1,300 fires are burning across the country. The government has deployed about 25,000 soldiers, police and firefighters in six provinces to battle the fires.

印尼国家航空航天研究所表示，全国范围有超过1300起大火正在燃烧。政府已经向六个省份部署了大约2.5万名士兵，警察和消防员来灭火。

Indonesian farmers, developers and other businesses often burn rainforest to clear land at this time of year. The burning usually takes place during the country’s dry season. But a large rise in palm oil production on peat lands is blamed for the many fires this year. Peat is made partly of dead plants. It burns easily and is often used as cooking fuel.  

印尼农民，开发商和其他企业经常在每年的这个世界焚烧雨林来清空场地。焚烧活动经常在干旱季节进行。但是泥炭地上棕榈油产量的增加导致今年多起火灾。部分泥炭是由枯死的植物制作的，非常容易燃烧，经常用作烹饪燃料。

The resulting thick, black smoke has polluted skies over Indonesia and four other countries. The burning has worsened air quality, closed schools and forced the cancellation of sporting events and other outdoor activities.

火灾造成的厚重的浓烟污染了印尼和四个其他国家的天空。火灾导致空气质量恶化，学校关闭，迫使体育赛事和其他户外活动取消。

Smoke pollution has been a problem in Pekanbaru, a city on the island of Sumatra. To escape the unhealthy air, some babies were taken to air-conditioned office of the governor.

在苏门答腊岛上的城市北干巴鲁，浓烟污染成为严重的问题。为了逃离不健康的空气，一些婴儿被带到有空调的州长办公室。

Nur Habiba Al-Ashraf is a mother. She says the government office is safe and clean, unlike open areas. Her child, she adds, is breathing normally since he was brought inside the building.

Nur Habiba Al-Ashraf是一位母亲。她说，政府办公室安全而干净，不像户外一样。她的孩子自从被带到政府办公室内就可以正常呼吸了。

The smoke is not only affecting people; it is affecting wildlife. In Indonesian Borneo, an orangutan rescue center says some of its animals have developed breathing problems. Doctors reported on Tuesday that 16 orangutan babies are suffering from acute respiratory infections. Denny Kurniawan is the center’s program manager.

浓烟不仅影响人类，还影响野生生物。在印尼的渤泥，一个红毛猩猩救助中心表示，其中一些动物出现呼吸问题。周二，医生报告称，16只红毛猩猩幼崽遭受严重的呼吸系统感染。Denny Kurniawan是该中心项目经理。

He says he is worried that if the fires continue, a lot more orangutans could become sick and some could die.

他表示，他担心如果火灾继续，越来越多红毛猩猩会患病，甚至死亡。

Scientists have warned that the fires this year could be worst ever because of a weather system called El Nino. They say the weather system has created extremely dry conditions in Indonesia.

科学家警告称，由于厄尔尼诺天气现象，今年的火灾可能是有史以来最严重的。他们表示，天气系统造成了印度尼西亚极端干旱的状况。

Words in This Story

aeronautics – n. the science that deals with airplanes and flying

acute – adj. very serious or dangerous

respiratory – adj. relating to the act or process of breathing