VOA标准英语2011--Doctors, Nurses Continue to Provide Care at Damaged Sirte Hospital

Doctors, Nurses Continue to Provide Care at Damaged Sirte Hospital

The destruction of Moammar Gadhafi's hometown, Sirte, during Libya's revolution included significant damage to the city's main hospital, where a small crew of intrepid¹ doctors and nurses continues to provide care.

In the wanton destruction of Sirte, even the Ibn a-Sina hospital was a target.

This is the hospital's main operating room. Dr. Abdulla Etbiga explains what happened. “The last operation was here. When we finished the operation, after maybe 30 minutes, 40 minutes, this happened," he said.

An artillery² shell or rocket propelled grenade came through the wall. No one was injured, but the operating room is unusable and all of its equipment and supplies were destroyed.

Dr. Etbiga, a general surgeon, did all kinds of operations beyond his specialty³ during the worst of the fighting. And with most of the staff gone, he became the hospital's acting⁴ director. “We need everything on your mind, because we have nothing, or we have, but not enough," he said.

Dr. Etbiga says that during the worst of the fighting there were only a few doctors and nurses to care for the wounded. He says several people died because there was no anesthesiologist to help with operations.

Now, the situation is a little better, in part thanks to foreign doctors and nurses, like these from the Philippines, who are helping⁵ a young man who was burned in a gasoline tank explosion.

Many local staff members are still afraid to come back to Sirte.

But some volunteers are coming from other parts of the country, including Dr. Arish Taher Shafa from Tripoli.

When asked why he volunteered, he replied, "We have to. I think so. We have to. There is a shortage in this hospital, and we know that.

Concerning his reaction to the hospital, he said, "It's a disaster. I don't know. I have no time even to think about it.”

It is difficult for many people to talk about what happened here. Dr. Etbiga, who grew up in Sirte, is among those who can not put their feelings into words. “My mind? I think you can go with your camera, and the camera will talk what's on my mind," he said.

In the midst of this city with nearly every building destroyed, in this hospital with holes in the walls and no running water, the small medical staff is struggling to keep up with the needs of its 30 patients.

And even with the war over and few people living in the town's rubble⁶, new victims continue to come in, many with injuries related to cleanup efforts or caused by the still live explosives that litter the city.

1 intrepid   

adj.无畏的，刚毅的

参考例句：

• He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。
• John's intrepid personality made him a good choice for team leader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。

2 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

3 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。