2006年VOA标准英语-Red Cross Begins Recovery Operations in Pa

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
05 April 2006

A Kashmiri earthquake survivor¹ looks for his belongings² under the debris³ of his house in Camsera, Neelum Valley (file dec 2005)   
  
The International Federation⁴ of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says humanitarian⁵ operations in Pakistan's earthquake zone have begun shifting from relief to recovery now that winter has ended and people are starting to return to where they once lived.   Red Cross Officials tell VOA about the difficulties that lie ahead.  

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Red Cross Media Officer, Anna Nelson, has just returned from a visit to Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province.

"This region gives remote a whole new meaning," Nelson said.  

One place she went to was the Kaghan Valley.  Anna Nelson tells VOA the area is so remote that help did not arrive until mid-December, two months after the earthquake hit. 

"It sits in a bit of a bowl surrounded by snow-capped mountains," she explained. "There is still snow on those mountains.  And, then the soil is water logged and the earthquake made the ground very unstable⁶ and so you will get these rock slides that can come down and close off the only road for four to five weeks.  And, that has been the case now for the past four to five weeks.  And, when I was there, there were aftershocks that could still be felt." 

Nelson says the difficulties of getting corrugated⁷ iron sheeting and other materials needed to rebuild shelters to remote areas such as this are mind boggling.  Fortunately, the people living there are very hardy⁸ and resilient.   She says they often walk impossibly long distances, up steep, narrow mountain roads carrying heavy loads on their backs. 

She says people are looking forward to getting back to their normal lives.  She says they want seeds so they can plant a crop this year.  She says they are looking forward to their children going back to school next week.

"There is a lot of support that needs to be given," Nelson said. "Their children are afraid to be indoors because of the ongoing⁹ aftershocks.  So, there is a lot of support that is needed there.  One of the things that they were telling me is that they are in desperate need of medical staff, of life-saving drugs.  They see a lot of problems like dehydration¹⁰, respiratory problems, scabies in children." 

The Pakistani government is offering a compensation package of about $2,000 to $3,000 to earthquake victims.  But, Red Cross Regional Officer for Pakistan, Christine South, says not everyone will be able to get the money.

"If there are female headed households, they may not be able to access the compensation package if they do not have a male member of the family to access," South said. "And, there may be other vulnerable groups that cannot easily access and that is where the Red Cross and Red Crescent want to be there to provide support to those vulnerable families as needed."

The earthquake killed more than 73,000 people and left more than 3.5 million homeless.   During the next three years, the Red Cross says it plans to help one million victims to rebuild their lives.

1 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

2 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

3 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。

4 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

5 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。

6 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

7 corrugated   

adj.波纹的；缩成皱纹的；波纹面的；波纹状的v.（使某物）起皱褶(corrugate的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• a corrugated iron roof 波纹铁屋顶
• His brow corrugated with the effort of thinking. 他皱着眉头用心地思考。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。