VOA双语新闻 Pakistani Relief Efforts Stalled

Six days after last Saturday's deadly earthquake in Pakistan, relief efforts remain stalled in some of the hardest-hit areas. The town of Balakot, about 15 kilometers from the quake's epicenter, where the survivors¹ are still desperate for emergency assistance.

巴基斯坦上个星期六发生强烈地震，现在已经过去6天了，但是救援工作仍然无法到达一些受灾最严重的地区。在距离震中15公里的巴拉科特镇，幸存者仍然在苦苦等待紧急救援的到来。

U.N. officials say aid workers are in a race against time to save thousands of earthquake victims stranded² in remote mountain villages near the epicenter.

联合国官员说，救援工作人员正在震中附近边远山村争分夺秒地抢救几千名受困的地震灾民。

Conditions in Balakot suggest they are losing, and losing badly.

但是，巴拉科特的情况说明，救援工作人员实在是回天乏力。

Traffic out of town is at a standstill. This ambulance has been stuck for nearly five minutes.

巴拉科特镇附近的交通一片混乱。紧急救护车近5分钟无法动弹。

Aid workers say part of the problem is the thousands of volunteers who are driving here hoping to lend a hand.

救援工作人员说，问题是，几千名志愿工作人员正在开车进入这个地区，提供帮助。

Unfortunately, their good intentions are having dire³ consequences, clogging⁴ roads and keeping emergency supplies and professional rescue teams from reaching Balakot.

不幸的是，他们的良好意愿正在造成很坏的后果，他们堵塞公路，令紧急物资和专业救援队伍无法进入巴拉科特。

Relief worker Hamid Mehmood says, someone with authority needs to step in and impose some sort of order over the chaos⁵.

救援工作人员迈赫穆德说，有关当局必须介入，对这种混乱局面采取某些维持秩序的措施。

"I don't know where they are. For the last five days, I did not see a single official come out and talk to people," said Mr. Mehmood.

他说：“我不知道这些人在哪里。过去5天来，我看不到有一个官员出来和人们讲话。”

Nearly 90 percent of this town was leveled by the earthquake.

这个镇百分之90被地震夷平。

In places, it is impossible to distinguish individual houses. All you can see is one enormous pile of concrete rubble⁶ stretching on for hundreds of meters.

在有些地方，已经无法分清每一座房子。能够看到的，就是几百米连成一片的水泥废墟。

Where the local school once stood, a Jordanian rescue team is clearing debris⁷ around a body.

在一个曾经是学校的地方，约旦救援队伍正在清理废墟中的尸体。

More than 350 children died here. Just now, workers say, they have found one of their teachers.

350多名儿童在此葬身。工作人员说，他们刚刚找到其中的一名教师。

The air here is thick with the smell of decomposing⁸ bodies, and most people wear surgical⁹ masks as they walk through town.

空气中弥漫着尸体腐烂的气味，经过这个镇的人，绝大多数都戴着口罩。

Aid agencies say the priority now is providing winterized tents for the thousands of people left without homes.

救援机构说，目前最要紧的是为成千上万无家可归的人提供过冬的帐篷。

The temperatures here are already approaching freezing at night and local residents say it will start snowing in just a few weeks.

这儿的气温，晚上已经差不多接近零度，当地居民说，几个星期之内就要开始下雪了。

Dildar Fani, who lost more than 300 members of his extended family this week, says time is running out for those who survived.

一名叫凡尼的人，他家族中300多人死于这个星期发生的地震，他说，对幸存者来说，时间真是非常紧迫的。

"There is no shelter," he said. "Go with me and see all the people with family, with children … these people will die!"

他说：“现在没有避身之处。所有这些和家人孩子在一起的人，这些人会死的。”

He says entire villages just outside Balakot still have not received any aid at all. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people are sick, starving and lack even the most basic shelter.

凡尼说，巴拉科特附近的村庄，到现在根本没有收到任何救援物资。几百人、也许是几千人病倒了，他们正在忍受饥饿，而且没有最基本的避身所。

And weather experts are now predicting severe thunderstorms, which in these towns high in the Himalayan mountains, could potentially bring the season's first snow.

气象专家预测很快会有严重的风暴，而且有可能给这个喜马拉雅山城带来这个季节的第一场大雪。
 

1 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

2 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

3 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

4 clogging   

堵塞，闭合

参考例句：

• This process suffers mainly from clogging the membrane. 这种过程的主要问题是滤膜的堵塞。
• And you know that eyewitness that's been clogging up the airwaves? 你知道那个充斥着电视广播的目击证人？

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

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 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

8 decomposing   

腐烂( decompose的现在分词 )； （使）分解； 分解（某物质、光线等）

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the overpowering stench of decomposing vegetation. 空气中充满了令人难以忍受的腐烂植物的恶臭。
• Heat was obtained from decomposing manures and hot air flues. 靠肥料分解和烟道为植物提供热量。

9 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。