亚洲灾难援助遭遇空前的后勤困难

 

Asian Disaster Relief Efforts Encounter Unparalleled Logistical Difficulties

亚洲灾难援助遭遇空前的后勤困难

 

As the death toll¹ continues to climb in the wake of Sunday's earthquake-triggered tsunami², the world is witnessing the biggest-ever mobilization of international aid for a natural disaster. But relief workers are warning that the geographic³ scope of the tragedy is so immense that there is no way to guarantee that life-saving food, fresh water and medicine will reach everyone in need.

 

So far, the response, like the event that triggered it, is unparalleled in modern history. Already, aid workers report, the flow of material goods to some airports in the disaster zone greatly exceeds storage and distribution capacity.

 

Such is the case in Medan Indonesia, some 300 kilometers southeast of the devastated⁴ town of Banda Aceh. Speaking with VOA by cell phone from Medan, Oxfam coordinator⁵ Mona Laczo says a planned aid shipment to the city has had to be diverted.

 

Mona Laczo: Things change so fast, our plane that left the U.K. [Britain] on Wednesday -- now, we are being told that, because so much aid has poured in, the Medan airport can no longer facilitate the arrival. So, our plane is actually going to end up somewhere else, and we have to go back to square-one [start planning from scratch once again].

 

Ms. Laczo says, aside from food and fresh water, Oxfam plans to distribute mosquito nets to protect tsunami-ravaged communities from mosquito-born diseases, such as dengue fever and malaria⁶.

 

Bottlenecks⁷ in aid distribution are but one facet⁸ of the monumental logistical challenge of reaching survivors⁹ across a wide swath of Asian coastline, with many islands and villages virtually inaccessible¹⁰.

 

“It goes past anything we have any experience dealing¹¹ with," said Gail Neudorf, helps direct emergency response teams for the aid organization CARE. She spoke¹² with VOA from the group's offices in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

Gail Neudorf : One of the biggest issues is access and getting to people, with the destruction that has gone on, many roads are washed out, airstrips are washed out."

 

Ms. Neudorf says no one wants to contemplate¹³ the possibility of aid and supplies failing to reach any affected¹⁴ area in time to prevent further loss of life. But, she says, in a tragedy of this magnitude, affecting so many disparate and remote localities over such a wide and varied¹⁵ region, that possibility is all too real.

 

Gail Neudorf : It is not guaranteed that we will be able to reach everyone, just because of the sheer size and scope of this, you reach those that you can right away, but we have to keep in mind that we have to keep expanding that network. It is going to be extremely difficult to keep moving that focus out, because you become overwhelmed with what you see right in front of you.

 

Oxfam relief worker Mona Laczo shares the concern.

 

Mona Laczo: It is likely that some communities will be reached later, and we are very concerned about that. Therefore, we very much think that coordination¹⁶ [among relief groups] is very much a key [for effectiveness]. If we coordinate¹⁷, if the U.N. and other agencies coordinate, and if the governments coordinate, then, hopefully, we can reach communities that might be isolated¹⁸ and help them.

 

At a news conference in New York, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said the world body will be "stretched" to meet the needs of tsunami survivors. But, he added, the global community has no choice but to do its utmost in every way possible.

 

Michael Bowman, VOA news, Washington.

 

注释：

mobilization [7mEubilai5zeiFEn] n. 动员

geographic [7dViE5^rAfik] adj. 地理学的，地理的

immense [i5mens] adj. 极广大的，无边的

unparalleled [Qn5pArEleld] adj. 空前的

Oxfam [5CksfAm] abbr. Oxford¹⁹ Committee for Famine Relief（英国）牛津饥荒救济委员会

mosquito net 蚊帐

dengue fever [医]登革热

malaria [mE5lZEriE] n. 疟疾，瘴气

inaccessible [7inAk5sesEbl] adj. 达不到的，难以接近

airstrip [5eEstrip] n. 飞机跑道

contemplate [5kCntempleit] v. 预期

magnitude [5mA^nitju:d] n. 数量

utmost [5QtmEust] n. 极限

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 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。

3 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

5 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

6 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。

7 bottlenecks   

n.瓶颈( bottleneck的名词复数 )；瓶颈路段（常引起交通堵塞）；（尤指工商业发展的）瓶颈；阻碍

参考例句：

• Roadworks are causing bottlenecks in the city centre. 道路施工导致市中心交通阻塞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At five o'clock in the afternoon the city streets are a series of bottlenecks. 下午五点市中心的街道就成了拥挤不堪的窄路。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 facet   

n.(问题等的)一个方面；(多面体的)面

参考例句：

• He has perfected himself in every facet of his job.他已使自己对工作的各个方面都得心应手。
• Every facet of college life is fascinating.大学生活的每个方面都令人兴奋。

9 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

10 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 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。

13 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

15 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

16 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。

17 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

18 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

19 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。