联合国官员表扬发达国家对灾难的援助

 

UN Official Praises Wealthy Nations for Disaster Funds

联合国官员表扬发达国家对灾难的援助

 

A senior U.N. official has backed away from earlier comments that wealthy nations had been "stingy" in responding to humanitarian¹ aid appeals.

 

U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator² Jan Egeland says rich countries have responded generously to requests to help victims of the earthquake and tsunami³ that swept from South Asia to Africa.

 

His comments came a day after he appeared to criticize the United States and European countries for what he called being "stingy" with aid contributions.

 

When U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was asked about the comment during a cable television news interview Tuesday, he stated flatly, "We are not stingy." He noted⁴ that the United States is the world's single largest contributor to international disaster relief, as well as to anti-AIDS and food aid programs.

 

Mr. Egeland, a Norwegian, told reporters Tuesday that his comments had been misinterpreted.

 

He has spoken in the past about the donor⁵ fatigue⁶ many rich countries feel as they receive more and more requests for development aid. He said those comments have nothing to do with the response to this latest emergency.

 

Jan Egeland: The response has so far been overwhelmingly positive, and the pledges we've had today have been most generous. I've been in contact with a number of donors⁷, European donors, I've been in contact with several friends in the U.S. administration in Washington, and they have pledged very important, substantive⁸ support, for which we are very grateful.

 

Secretary of State Powell Monday pledged an initial $15 million in U.S. aid, plus logistical support for assistance efforts. A White House spokesman Tuesday said the U.S. Agency for International Development would give another $20 million, and more would be coming as assessment⁹ needs are made.

 

The United Nations has not yet calculated the amount it will request in its overall earthquake-tsunami aid appeal, but officials say many billions of dollars will be needed to rebuild shattered economies.

 

Peter Heinlein, VOA news, United Nations.

 

注释：

stingy [5stindVi] adj. 吝啬的，小气的

contribution [7kCntri5bju:FEn] n. 捐献

cable television 有线电视

misinterpret [5misin5tE:prit] vt. 曲解

substantive [5sQbstEntiv] adj. 有实质的，大量的

shatter [5FAtE] vt. 破坏，使垮掉

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 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？

3 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。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

6 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

7 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

9 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？