2006年VOA标准英语-UN Gearing Up For Lebanon Reconstruction

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
25 August 2006
 

Children assist their grandmother in front of their tent in the Debbine village, south Lebanon,  Aug. 25, 2006  
  
United Nations aid agencies are planning for reconstruction¹ and rehabilitation² of war-torn Lebanon. They say their immediate³ focus remains⁴ emergency humanitarian⁵ assistance to tens of thousands of victims while these long-term projects are being assessed.

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The U.N. refugee agency is providing temporary shelter for people outside the major cities who have lost their homes. The Lebanese government estimates 90 percent of some 800,000 displaced people returned home within days of the ceasefire.

UNHCR spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis says her agency is helping⁶ vulnerable people who still are living in temporary shelters. However, she says the main focus is on assistance to those who have returned. She says UNHCR supplies continue to arrive in Lebanon by air, sea and road. She says the agency now has storage facilities in Beirut, Sidon and Tyre.

"We are now fully⁷ operational in the South out of Tyre and Sidon," she said. "We now have convoys⁸. Over the last couple of days, fanning out to various parts of the country that we had assessment⁹ teams earlier, delivering tents, blankets, mattresses¹⁰ and various other items that are urgently needed."

The World Food Program says it is a lot easier to send food convoys to southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut since the cease fire. Although, spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume says there still are a lot of obstacles.

 
A Lebanese girl weeps among rubble¹¹ of an apartment building destroyed during Hezbollah-Israel conflict, in southern Lebanon
  
"The roads are bad," she said. "The UEXO (unexploded ordnance) represent a problem. It takes a long time. This is why we are using as well the sea to bring relief into the region. Tyre has become really our hub. It is from Tyre that we dispatch everything. So, yes, the situation is improving."

Berthiaume says the World Food Program is feeding more than a half million people. But, she says, she expects that number to fall dramatically in the near future.

The U.N. Children's Fund says it is planning for the next phase of reconstruction and rehabilitation. That will involve rebuilding and repairing damaged water and sanitation¹² systems. In the meantime, it says, it is continuing to distribute tens of thousands of liters of bottled water every day.

A Lebanese man jumps next to the rubble of collapsed¹³ apartment buildings in southern Beirut, Aug. 13, 2006  
  
UNICEF spokesman Michael Bociurkiw says the agency also is concentrating on getting as many children into school as possible. He says the start of the school year has been delayed to October 9 because of the damage done to schools during the war.

"So far, we found that up to 50 schools in the south of Lebanon have been completely destroyed and 300 others have suffered serious damage," he said. "The Ministry¹⁴ of Education, one of our closest partners on the ground there, estimates that the damage sustained by the education sector¹⁵ alone is at $70 million."

Bociurkiw says getting children back to school is the best way of ensuring their return to normal life. He says UNICEF is sending 4,000 so-called school-in-a-box kits¹⁷ to Lebanon on Monday. He says each kit¹⁶ contains enough school supplies for 80 children.
 
 

1 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。

2 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

3 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。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

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 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 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。

8 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

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？

10 mattresses   

褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
• The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

11 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

12 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

13 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。

14 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

15 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

16 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

17 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。