CNN 2010-08-25

AZUZ: And Iran is making a new type of military weapon. It's a long-range drone, an unmanned arial vehicle. They're pretty common in modern combat. The U.S. uses something called a Predator¹ drone. And American officials say the unmanned vehicles help cut down risk for troops because no one actually has to be on board piloting it. Iran started producing its drones back in February. The first ones were unveiled yesterday. Iranian officials say the drones have a range of about 620 miles and can carry different types of bombs and missiles to hit ground targets. They claim that the goal of the new vehicles is to prevent aggression² against their country. Meanwhile, Iran has started fueling a new nuclear energy plant. It says the plant will help make electricity. But other countries, including the United States, think Iran may try to make nuclear weapons.

Flood Economy

AZUZ: Moving east from Iran to Pakistan. We've told you about the severe flooding there. We're starting to see some of the aftermath of that flooding in terms of disease: skin diseases, respiratory infections, malaria³. The World Health Organization says nearly a million Pakistanis are suffering some kind of illness. The floods are making a massive impact on the country's economy as well, and Jonathan Mann has more on that.

JONATHAN MANN: More than half of Pakistan's people live off the land. Now, much of the land is covered by dirty water, and the people are reduced to misery⁴.

WENDY CHAMBERLIN, PRESIDENT, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE; FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO PAKISTAN: It's hard to imagine a country that is least prepared or had the thinnest of margins⁵ to be able to absorb a shock of this type.

MANN: Under all of that water, there are homes, farms and factories, bridges, roads and irrigation canals. Five hundred thousand tons of stored wheat is now reported ruined. Add potentially two million bales of cotton. Food prices have been rising in markets around the country. Pakistan's long-standing electricity shortage is suddenly so much worse because power plants have been shut down or damaged as well. The county's high commissioner⁶ to Britain told the Reuters news agency that it might cost $15 billion to rebuild from the devastation⁷. And Pakistan -- already deeply in debt -- will have less money to spend, because its ability to earn with exports has been dramatically reduced.

CHAMBERLIN: What the floods have done is to virtually wipe out an infrastructure⁸, agricultural infrastructure that it depended upon for its wheat exports. And because about 60 percent of the population worked in the agricultural sector⁹, so the amount of investment that will need to go in just to bring Pakistan back up to a status quo, a status quo that was not sufficient, is going to cost billions and billions of dollars.
 

1 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

2 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

3 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

4 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

5 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

7 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。