VOA标准英语2008年-Burma Grants Visas to Relief Workers, But Littl

By Luis Ramirez
Bangkok
29 May 2008

International relief agencies say Burma's military government has been granting visas to a larger number of foreign relief workers this week. But the agencies complain that once in Burma, the authorities are preventing many from traveling to the Irawaddy Delta¹ areas hit by Cyclone² Nargis, which left nearly 134,000 people dead or missing. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from our Southeast Asia bureau in Bangkok.

U.N. officials say in the past week since General Than Shwe told visiting U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon he would allow foreign aid workers in the country regardless of nationality, the Burmese authorities have been issuing visas. But the officials say few of those relief workers are being permitted to go into the Irawaddy Delta, where the storm leveled entire villages and where an estimated 2.4 million people are in dire³ need of adequate water, food and medical attention.

Among those who have not received visas are members of the U.S. Agency for International Development's Disaster Assistance Response Team, who have been waiting in Bangkok for weeks.

U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Eric John said the United States is not giving up its efforts to provide aid and expertise⁴ when Burma allows it.

"So far no word that they can, but also so far no word that they cannot," he said. "That is why we are still pushing ahead, pushing on this with the Burmese and we still think that it is valuable to get them in."

Also standing⁵ by are U.S. Navy ships loaded with purified water and other supplies off the Burmese coast in the Andaman Sea. Washington says it intends to keep the ships in place, but the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific Admiral Timothy Keating said this week that would likely be only for matter of days, not weeks.

U.S. officials say that while Burma has been allowing more aid to flow in than in weeks past, there is no indication of a change in the Burmese generals' policy of not allowing a larger-scale delivery of aid.

The United States has pledged $23 million for relief efforts and sent in more than 70 relief flights to the main city, Rangoon.

More than relief supplies, Burma's generals have suggested they need money and have requested $11 billion for reconstruction⁶.

A state-run newspaper in the country criticized the international community for not giving enough toward that effort. The newspaper blasted donor⁷ nations for falling short of the $201 million target set by the United Nations in a flash appeal this week.

1 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。

2 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。

3 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

4 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

7 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。