VOA常速英语2007年-Security Hampers Aid Delivery to Sri Lankan Dis

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
26 December 2007

The International Committee of the Red Cross says aid workers are facing greater difficulties and dangers in efforts to reach displaced people in Sri Lanka with essential relief. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from ICRC headquarters in Geneva the agency is appealing to all warring factions¹ in Sri Lanka to guarantee the security of aid workers.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says the killings² of several aid workers this year has put humanitarian³ operations at risk. Red Cross Spokesman, Marcel Izard, tells VOA, the killers⁴ of three murdered members of the Sri Lankan Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement still have not been found.

"What we still ask the Sri Lankan government is to go behind those killings and that the police find out who is behind this because definitely for humanitarian aid we need safety," he said. "We need safety to be able to deliver the aid which is urgently needed for the displaced people in the north and in the east."

One aid worker was abducted⁵ December 14 by unidentified gunmen in the northern Tamil city of Jaffna. His body was found two days later. On June 1, two Red Cross staff members were murdered in the capital, Colombo.

Besides these tragedies, Izard says people continue to flee their homes to escape the constant flare-up of fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels. He says the Red Cross is particularly troubled by allegations of attacks against civilians⁶, disappearances⁷, and child recruitment.

He says nearly 50,000 newly displaced people are living under difficult conditions in the Tamil districts of Batticaloa and Trincomalee.

"These people-they are recently displaced-normally they try to settle in public buildings, which is temples or schools," Izard said. "Many of them have relatives so they squat⁸ inside the house of other people and they have to share a very narrow space to live. And, some other people who have nothing and they will get a tent or a tarpaulin⁹ plastic sheet and those people are obviously the worst affected¹⁰ because we have now the monsoon¹¹ rain."

Izard says both Batticaloa and Trincomalee are flooded and the plastic sheeting people receive is the only protection they have against the wind and rain. He says the displaced have lost all their belongings¹², so the Red Cross is providing them with essential items.

ICRC delegates also carry out regular visits to people detained by the government. During the past two months, Izard says delegates carried out visits to nearly 900 prisoners in 41 places of detention¹³. He says the Red Cross transmitted hundreds of messages between the detainees and their families.

He says delegates also are visiting four Sri Lankan sailors and one soldier captured by the Tamil Tigers.

1 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

2 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

3 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。

4 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

5 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 disappearances   

n.消失( disappearance的名词复数 )；丢失；失踪；失踪案

参考例句：

• Most disappearances are the result of the terrorist activity. 大多数的失踪案都是恐怖分子造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The espionage, the betrayals, the arrests, the tortures, the executions, the disappearances will never cease. 间谍活动、叛党卖国、逮捕拷打、处决灭迹，这种事情永远不会完。 来自英汉文学

8 squat   

v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的

参考例句：

• For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
• He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

9 tarpaulin   

n.涂油防水布，防水衣，防水帽

参考例句：

• The pool furniture was folded,stacked,and covered with a tarpaulin.游泳池的设备都已经折叠起来，堆在那里，还盖上了防水布。
• The pool furniture was folded,stacked,and covered with a tarpaulin.游泳池的设备都已经折叠起来，堆在那里，还盖上了防水布。

10 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。

11 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

12 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。

13 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。