PBS高端访谈:为什么尼泊尔没有对必然发生的地震最好准备?

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: We have more now on Nepal.

　　Earlier today, the NewsHour acquired this video shot by a film crew using an aerial drone showing the devastation¹ above the ancient city of Bhaktapur, not far from the capital, Kathmandu. The city of 300,000 is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's been known for having the best preserved palace courtyards and old city center in Nepal.

　　Reports are that some 200 people were killed there during Saturday's earthquake. Apart from Nepal's rich mountaineering and cultural history, most Americans know little about the tiny nation.

　　To help fill us in on the country's politics, economy and infrastructure³, I'm joined by Jonah Blank, an anthropologist⁴ and a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation.

　　Jonah Blank, welcome.

　　And before I ask you about this other — I understand your wife's family, Nepalese — or Nepalis — they were in Kathmandu when the earthquake struck, but they're doing all right?

　　JONAH BLANK, RAND Corporation: Yes. Thank you, Judy.

　　They're all safe, but they are trying to get enough water and fuel and wondering what happens next.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: So, it gives you another connection to this terrible disaster.

　　So, this is a country that has — for most of its existence was ruled by a monarchy⁵, but there has been a lot of political upheaval⁶ there in recent years.

　　JONAH BLANK: Nepal was, until recently, the world's only Hindu monarchy.

　　In 2006, a 10-year civil war ended, and the Maoists, who were the rebels in that fight, came into the government. In 2008, the monarchy was abolished. Since then, it has been a constitutional democracy without a real constitution. The Maoists won the first election. Other parties won the subsequent one, and there's been a little bit of jockeying ever since.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: And what has that meant for the stability of country? And a lot of has been raised recently about corruption⁷ in the Nepalese government?

　　JONAH BLANK: Well, the stability has been a pretty good picture up until Saturday.

　　In fact, Nepal had been doing better economically and by most other measures since 2006, when the year the civil war ended, than it had been before. Corruption is a major issue. Nepal ranks about 150th out of about 175 on Transparency International's ranking, so this is really going to hinder long-term reconstruction⁸.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: And which has raised the question for people sending — organizations sending in aid money, can they be confident that money is going to be spent the way it's supposed to be spent?

　　JONAH BLANK: I feel they can, because the relief phase is the phase when international organizations are going to be spending the money and running their own projects.

　　So, if people are sending money to a reputable charity, there's a very good chance, a very — an almost certainty that the money is going to be spent the way that they intend it. The longer-term project is when the government tries to rebuild.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: And you were telling me earlier — we were talking about the economy of Nepal, and you were saying, to such a large extent, it depends on money sent back by people who are Nepalese who live around the world, the Nepalese diaspora.

　　JONAH BLANK: That's right.

　　Twenty-nine percent of GDP comes from remittances⁹ sent back from Nepalis working particularly in the Gulf¹⁰ and also in India. So, they face a devil's choice here. Do the labor¹¹ force — does the labor force go back to Nepal to rebuild its own country and thereby¹² give up almost a third of the GDP, or do they keep sending the checks back, but have no one who has the hands and the backs to rebuild the country?

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Is there any indication at this point what they're doing?

　　JONAH BLANK: Well, a lot of them are flocking back because they want to to tend their own families.

　　But a longer-term question is what happens in the weeks and months to come.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: One other thing, Jonah Blank.

　　And that is, with all the warnings that came from the geological experts about the fact that a big earthquake was coming here, why wasn't more done to make sure that buildings were safer than they were?

　　JONAH BLANK: Because Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. It's really by far one of the poorest countries in Asia. It's almost on par² with countries like the Democratic People's Republic of Congo.

　　And it costs a lot of money to prepare for earthquake — buildings that are going to withstand these tremors¹³. That is why Japan, a country that is racked by earthquakes, but very few fatalities¹⁴, manages to do all right, but Nepal, a country that everyone knew was due for a terrible earthquake, has lost 5,000 so far, and we fear maybe 10,000 before this is all done.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Which calls to mind Haiti, another very, very poor country, of course, had its own catastrophe¹⁵ with the earthquake there.

　　Jonah Blank with the RAND Corporation, we thank you.

　　JONAH BLANK: Thank you, Judy.

1 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》

2 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

3 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。

4 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

5 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

6 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 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。

9 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

13 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。

14 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。