2006年VOA标准英语-Pakistan Leader Pledges Close Monitoring o

By Michael Drudge¹
London
26 January 2006

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says his country has received pledges of more than $6 billion to rebuild after last year's earthquake. He has told the World Economic Forum² in Davos, Switzerland about Pakistan's strategy to deal with the disaster.

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Pervez Musharraf gestures while speaking during special address at  World Economic Forum in Davos,  26 January 2006  
  

President Musharraf told the conference of business and political leaders that the key to his earthquake strategy has been to remain calm and show the victims the government is responding.

"The basic ingredient of a leader, I personally feel, is that he should never panic, whatever the problems, whatever the circumstances. This is the basic ingredient of leadership in all circumstances facing any disaster, facing any challenge," said Mr. Musharraf.

He says the October 8 earthquake dealt Pakistan a heavy blow that will take years to fully³ overcome.

"We've suffered casualties of about 73,000. There are about 3.5 million people affected," he said. "400,000 to 500,000 houses have been destroyed. Education and medical centers have collapsed⁴. Government institutions have also collapsed. This is the challenge that we face, to rebuild, to convert this challenge into an opportunity."

President Musharraf says one of the most immediate⁵ challenges has been for the government to distribute cash to the quake-affected region where banks were destroyed and businesses closed.

"Within a period of two months we monetized the area to an extent that business activity got generated, economic activity got generated, and people started reconstructing their lost houses themselves to a large extent. So this was a great action we took which paid a lot of dividends," he said.

The president is also pledging to personally monitor the spending of billions of dollars in reconstruction⁶ aid to make sure it is used well and honestly.

"We have already successfully implemented⁸ the relief part. We need to successfully implement⁷ the reconstruction and rehabilitation," he continued. "And this I will keep monitoring as the last part of my responsibility as a leader. I must know that the effects that we have desired keep getting created at various times and at various places."

President Musharraf says the $6.2 billion in foreign aid pledges are more than he expected, and he expresses his gratitude⁹ for the support of the international community.

1 drudge   

n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳

参考例句：

• I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！
• I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 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。

7 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

8 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

9 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。