VOA标准英语2008年-US Ships in Frustrating Wait Off Burma's Coast

By Luis Ramirez
Aboard USS Essex
17 May 2008

Burma's government is denying entry to helicopters and relief supplies from U.S. Navy ships waiting offshore¹, near the Irawaddy Delta². Relief groups say as many as two million people remain in desperate need of food, water, medicines and other relief supplies following the storm on May 3 that killed nearly 78,000 people. Thousands of others are still missing. VOA Southeast Asia correspondent Luis Ramirez is aboard U.S.S. Essex off the Burmese coast and has this report.

Crews aboard the U.S.S. Essex and three other U.S. Navy ships have been waiting in international waters in the Andaman Sea, roughly 100 kilometers from the Burmese coast, for several days. On board, bags of fresh water and medicines - relief supplies that aid agencies on the ground say are desperately³ needed by millions of survivors⁴ of Cyclone⁵ Nargis.

Helicopters aboard the Essex have been preparing for a huge airlift. For now, they have nowhere to go. U.S. military cargo⁶ airplanes have been flying in aid in small amounts to Burma's main city, Rangoon, but the Burmese government has yet to grant permission the U.S. has been seeking to move large quantities of supplies and equipment aboard helicopters and landing craft to remote areas of the Irawaddy Delta where it is needed the most.

To start, the U.S. says it is ready to start delivering tens of thousands of liters of fresh water produced aboard the ships each day.

Below the deck of the Essex, sailors and Marines work quickly to fill large plastic bladders with fresh water that's desalinated on the ship's evaporators.

Sheila Bird, a young Navy recruit from the U.S. state of California - on her knees along with her shipmates, filling a plastic bladder from a large water faucet⁷. She says she wishes that politics would not stand in the way of getting cyclone victims the help they need. She says it is painful to think that people so desperately need this clean water only a few kilometers away.

"It's definitely frustrating⁸. I've volunteered twice. My lieutenant⁹ commander knows that I want to go in there and help. This is the least I could do," she said.

Petty Officer Kristopher Pevoto says working in a relief operation following another major disaster taught him what the U.S. military and its vast resources could do for Burma.

"I was at the Indonesia one for the tsunami¹⁰ a couple of years ago. It's great being able to help. It would be great. It would be nicer if we could get in and do more. It made a great difference. Now, we've just got water sitting down there, not doing anything. Just waiting for them. Wish we could get it to them," he said.

U.S. military officials say the ships are now positioned so that they could mobilize everything from landing craft to state-of-the-art operating rooms in a matter of hours of getting permission from Burma's leaders.

Burmese officials have told the U.S. government they are considering the offers. Analysts¹¹ say Burma's reluctance¹² to accept wider U.S. help reflects the reclusive junta's fears of a U.S. presence. On Friday, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Carol Pottenger, Commander of the Seventh Fleet Amphibian¹³ Force, sought to dispel¹⁴ suspicions that Burmese leaders might have about American intentions.

"I'd like to invite them out here to the Essex. We'd show them what we can do (and) build a level of trust - that we really want to help and what we can do to offer that assistance and what we can do to alleviate¹⁵ the suffering of their population," she said.

The U.S. ships and troops, normally stationed at U.S. bases in Japan, were ordered to the Burmese coast while taking part in joint¹⁶ exercises with Thailand this month.

1 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

2 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。

3 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

4 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

5 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。

6 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

7 faucet   

n.水龙头

参考例句：

• The faucet has developed a drip.那个水龙头已经开始滴水了。
• She turned off the faucet and dried her hands.她关掉水龙头，把手擦干。

8 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

10 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。

11 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。

12 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

13 amphibian   

n.两栖动物；水陆两用飞机和车辆

参考例句：

• The frog is an amphibian,which means it can live on land and in water.青蛙属于两栖动物，也就是说它既能生活在陆地上也能生活在水里。
• Amphibian is an important specie in ecosystem and has profound meaning in the ecotoxicology evaluation.两栖类是生态系统中的重要物种，并且对环境毒理评价有着深远意义。

14 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

15 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

16 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。