IN THE NEWS - Six Months After the Tsunami: A Progress Repor

IN THE NEWS - Six Months After the Tsunami¹: A Progress Report
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Saturday, June 25, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Sunday will be six months since the earthquake and tsunami waves in the Indian Ocean. The undersea quake produced a series of ocean waves as high as ten meters. Extensive damage spread across twelve countries in Asia and Africa, from Indonesia to Somalia.

On Friday, officials from the United Nations and the European Union met to discuss progress in the aid efforts. Jan Egeland is the top U.N. official for emergency aid. It took, in his words, "five to ten seconds to wipe away two hundred twenty-five thousand people." And, Mister Egeland added, "it will take five to ten years to rebuild all that was lost."

Perhaps two million people were displaced² from their homes. Many still live in emergency shelters. The World Health Organization says many survivors³ now suffer mental health problems.

Indonesia this week said the discovery of more bodies increased the confirmed number of dead there to one hundred thirty-one thousand.

Mister Egeland says the world has reacted as never before to the events of December twenty-sixth. He says the amount spent or promised for assistance and rebuilding is around eleven thousand million dollars.

The United Nations has created a Web site to follow where aid is going. And, it has appointed Bill Clinton to assist the tsunami recovery efforts. The former president says it is going to take time for governments to provide the money they have offered.

Government aid from the United States includes about five hundred twenty-five million dollars now being released for rebuilding. The money is for projects like roads and schools.

An expert on aid financing⁴ says governments can provide help only after they receive a country's rebuilding plan. Sri Lanka and Indonesia provided those plans in May.

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Tamil Tiger rebels signed an agreement Friday. It calls for the government to share international aid with the rebels. The deal is expected to speed up aid to heavily damaged areas controlled by the Tamil Tigers. There are hopes, too, that it will help restart peace talks in Sri Lanka.

But some groups oppose the agreement. They say it will help the Tamil Tigers gain international recognition⁵. A Marxist group left the government last week in protest. On Friday, police fired tear gas as hundreds of protesters marched in Colombo.

Six months after the tsunami, scientists and governments are working to save lives in the future. Experts are meeting in Paris to discuss details of a tsunami early-warning system for the Indian Ocean. Some temporary measures are now in place. The goal is to have the new system in operation by July of two thousand six.

Scientists said the earthquake had a magnitude⁶ strength of nine. Now, they say it was nine-point-one-five. The quake was strong enough to shake the planet for months.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Jerilyn Watson.  I'm Steve Ember.

1 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。

2 displaced   

移动( displace的过去式和过去分词 )； 替换； 移走； 撤职

参考例句：

• Gradually factory workers have been displaced by machines. 工厂的工人已逐渐被机器取代。
• He was displaced by another young man. 他已被另一个年轻人顶替。

3 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

4 financing   

n.筹措资金

参考例句：

• The main source of our outside financing is bank loan. 我们向外筹措资金的主要渠道是银行贷款。
• They live in a symbiosis with governments that they are financing. 他们与他们服务的政府互利共存。

5 recognition   

n.承认，认可，认出，认识

参考例句：

• The place has changed beyond recognition.这地方变得认不出来了。
• A sudden smile of recognition flashed across his face.他脸上掠过一丝笑意，表示认识对方。

6 magnitude   

n.大小；重大；星等

参考例句：

• I want to know the magnitude of this equipment.我想知道这个设备的大小。
• I hadn't realized the magnitude of the problem.我没有认识到这个问题的重要性。