Turkey's Rescue Teams Pressed to Find Quake Survivors

 　　Time is running out for people believed to be still trapped in collapsed¹ buildings after Sunday's deadly earthquake in southeastern Turkey. The number of dead is more than 400, but that is expected to rise after a second night of freezing temperatures.

　　More and more rescue teams are reaching the quake-stricken area in southeastern Turkey, as efforts are intensifying² to find survivors³ buried in the rubble⁴ of the thousands of collapsed buildings.

　　With a second night of freezing conditions, it is a race against time.

　　The surviving mother of a baby girl rescued from a collapsed building is taken to an ambulance in Ercis, near the eastern Turkish city of Van, October 25, 2011.

　　In the early hours of Tuesday morning, five people were dug out of their collapsed apartment building. Later, a two-week-old baby, her mother and grandmother were also rescued from the rubble of their home.

　　But hundreds still remain unaccounted for.

　　Remote villages

　　Many of the region's remote villages still have not been reached, with access to numerous roads cut off. Those that have been reached have been devastated⁵, with the traditional houses made of mud and clay offering little protection to the powerful 7.2 quake.

　　The magnitude of the disaster is leading to increased scrutiny⁶ over the government's refusal to accept almost all offers of international help, including from Israel where there are current tense bilateral⁷ relations.

　　But Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc claimed Turkey's refusal of help is not politically motivated.

　　He says such a claim is horrendous⁸. He says that while Turkey may not be on the best of terms with Israel, to respond negatively to such a humane⁹ offer from the Israeli government in the wake of such a disaster because of separate agendas would have been wrong and inappropriate. The deputy prime minister says it is completely untrue that Turkey refused Israel's help for that reason.

　　International assistance

　　Nearly 90 countries have offered assistance, but Turkey has only accepted help from Iran and Azerbaijan, which border the area affected¹⁰ by the quake.

　　The government claims it can deal with the crisis. But with the approach of winter, and snow predicted later this week, pressure is building to accept assistance.

　　The region is one of the poorest in Turkey, with many people having lost what little they had. Although tent cities and field hospitals have been set up, criticism has been growing that more needs to be done.

1 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

2 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

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 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。

5 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

6 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

7 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

8 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

9 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。