VOA慢速英语 2008 0510

IN THE NEWS - UN Seeks $187 Million in Aid for the Victims of Cyclone¹ in Burma
Appeal is to help meet the needs of more than 1.5 million people over the next six months. Transcript² of radio broadcast:
09 May 2008

 

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
　

Damage caused by Cyclone Nargis

The United Nations is appealing to its members for one hundred eighty-seven million dollars in aid for victims of Cyclone Nargis in Burma. The powerful storm hit the country also called Myanmar a week ago.

Friday's emergency appeal said the aid would help meet the needs of more than one and a half million people over the next six months.

After the storm hit, Burmese leaders made a rare appeal for foreign help. But aid officials have largely faced delays and refusals of visas in their efforts to bring supplies and workers into the country. The Red Cross, though, has had greater success.

United Nations officials say deaths are likely to rise sharply unless food, clean drinking water, shelter and medicine arrive quickly.

On Friday the military government seized two planeloads of food and equipment flown in by the United Nations World Food Program. The government has said it wants to distribute foreign aid itself. The seizure³ led the World Food Program to suspend its flights. But agency officials later decided⁴ to send in two flights as planned on Saturday.

Also, American officials said Burma agreed to let the United States send a single planeload of supplies to the country on Monday.

Burmese officials say the cyclone left more than one million people homeless. About twenty-four million people live in the five areas struck by Cyclone Nargis. Complete villages were destroyed, and many roads are blocked. The Irrawaddy Delta⁵ River area was hit the worst.

Burmese reports say more than twenty thousand people are dead and forty thousand missing after the cyclone. American and other officials have warned that the number of dead could reach one hundred thousand because of disease. The Indian Ocean tsunami⁶ in two thousand four killed more than two hundred thousand people in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Weather experts in India say they warned Burma of the cyclone in enough time to save lives.

Burma is one of the world’s most closed societies. The military has controlled the country since nineteen sixty-two. On Saturday the ruling generals plan to carry out a vote for a new constitution. The vote will be delayed in disaster areas until May twenty-fourth.

State media carried messages Friday reminding citizens that it was their patriotic⁷ duty to approve the new constitution. The leaders of Burma say the constitution is part of what they call a "road map to democracy" that will lead to general elections in two years. The opposition⁸ National League for Democracy says the constitution will only strengthen military control.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the government to postpone⁹ the vote nationwide. He says all available resources should go into efforts to recover from Cyclone Nargis.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. For more news about Burma, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

1 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

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 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

6 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

7 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。