美国国家公共电台 NPR--Death toll continues to rise after a powerful quake struck eastern Afghanistan

Death toll¹ continues to rise after a powerful quake struck eastern Afghanistan

Transcript²

Aid workers and Taliban officials have rushed to a remote southeastern corner of the country — where they are now assessing the damage caused by Wednesday's earthquake.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today we have descriptions of the remote regions struck by an earthquake in Afghanistan.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Afghan officials believe this week's earthquake killed at least a thousand people. The damage is in rural areas that would be hard to reach, even under normal conditions.

INSKEEP: NPR's Diaa Hadid is just across the border in Islamabad, Pakistan. Hi there, Diaa.

DIAA HADID, BYLINE³: Hi there, Steve.

INSKEEP: What are you hearing?

HADID: Well, we're really hearing how devastating⁴ this earthquake has been. We're now seeing videos that are showing whole villages that have collapsed⁵ under the rubble⁶. There's men digging neat lines of mass graves. Injured people have been helicoptered to hospitals. And we spoke⁷ to one Taliban official who visited the area yesterday. His name is Khaled Zadran. He's the Kabul police spokesperson, and he told NPR's producer in Kabul, Fazelminallah Qazizai, that survivors⁸ were shellshocked.

KHALED ZADRAN: (Through interpreter) I saw lots of children, and they were just sitting in front of their demolished⁹, collapsed houses. But they were sitting there quietly, silently. They were not crying. But when we asked them, they will reply that 15 of my family members were killed, 12 of my family were killed.

INSKEEP: That is one of the most powerful images that I've heard yet, seen in my mind's eye yet, of what it's like to be there. So who's able to help?

HADID: Well, right now, aid groups have rushed in, but there's so much destruction and so many big challenges in their way. To get a sense of what they're facing, I spoke to Mohammad Ismail Hamid. He's the deputy country director for the Danish Refugee Council in Afghanistan. And he said they've deployed¹⁰ teams to assess the two hardest-hit areas. One of them is called the Barmal District. And have a listen to what he says.

MOHAMMAD ISMAIL HAMID: So it's a really disaster situation. Nearly almost all houses have been destroyed as a result of this earthquake in Barmal District.

HADID: Nearly all the homes have been destroyed in that one district. So he says in coordination¹¹ with other groups, they're distributing tents, clean water, food, blankets, cash, all this to survivors. But Steve, survivors here is the key word. There's so many people still buried under the rubble, and it might take days to get them out because this area is so remote. It's rugged¹² mountains that straddle the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It's mostly dirt roads to get there, and they've turned to mud because if this earthquake wasn't bad enough, there's been heavy rains that have been pounding the area. And they need to ship in heavy technical equipment and the people who are experts in using it, these search and rescue teams. So he tells me the international community really has to step up to help Afghans rebuild, and that could take years.

INSKEEP: Of course, the primary responsibility for that region goes to the government, which is to say the Taliban, which took over the country just under one year ago. On its own terms in a military takeover, they seized power. How effective have they been at responding?

HADID: So the Taliban has rushed in. Their disaster management authority is leading the effort. Other senior ministries¹³ are lending a hand. High-level ministers have gone to the area to assuage¹⁴ residents that they won't be forgotten. They're uploading images and videos of what they're doing on social media. And one Afghanistan expert I spoke to says this is all the Taliban signaling to Afghans that they care and that they can govern competently. As you said, they seized power in a military sweep. They've stripped away women's rights. And so no country in the world has recognized them. And so what they're trying to tell Afghans is the international community has abandoned you, but we haven't.

INSKEEP: NPR's Diaa Hadid, thanks so much.

HADID: Thank you, Steve.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

5 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。

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。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 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

9 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

10 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

11 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

12 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

13 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

14 assuage   

v.缓和，减轻，镇定

参考例句：

• The medicine is used to assuage pain.这种药用来止痛。
• Your messages of cheer should assuage her suffering.你带来的这些振奋人心的消息一定能减轻她的痛苦。