VOA标准英语2008年-Pressure Mounts on Burma to Help Cyclone Victim

By Luis Ramirez
Bangkok
08 May 2008

As hundreds of thousands of cyclone¹ victims go without food, water and medicine, Burma's military leaders are refusing to grant access to international disaster teams who want to help them.  The official death toll² is more than 22,000 people.  VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from our Southeast Asia Bureau in Bangkok.

Several countries and the United Nations said they have aircraft ready to deliver much-needed food, water, medicines and other relief supplies to those who are stranded³ in the flooded areas of Burma's Irawaddy Delta⁴ - the rice-growing region that was the scene of the worst devastation⁵. 

Diplomats⁷ in Burma say the death toll may reach 100,000 people, with as many as a million others left homeless.

Most victims have yet to receive any aid and officials say the full scope of the disaster will not be truly known until disaster teams go in to assess the damage.  For now, relief supplies are sitting on airplanes and store houses outside Burma.

A sign of hope emerged earlier Thursday, when it was widely reported Thai officials said Burma agreed to allow a U.S. military C-130 cargo⁸ airplane to deliver humanitarian⁹ supplies. 

But later in the day, U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Eric John said no such airlift was happening.  He said there had been a miscommunication.

"This morning (Thursday) what they had from the Burmese government was permission for us to use the C-130," Ambassador John said. "Since then that decision, I think, has been taken back by the Burmese and they are still - I think I would characterize it as it is still - under study by the Burmese authority.  So we do not have permission yet for the C-130 to go in."

Burma's military, which has controlled the country since 1962, has been reluctant to accept assistance for disasters because of suspicions that a foreign presence might be subversive¹⁰. 

In his remarks to reporters, the U.S. diplomat⁶ presented members of an American disaster assistance response team, waiting in Bangkok for visas to go into Burma to start helping¹¹ people.  The envoy¹² says the Burmese generals have nothing to fear.

"I just want to kind of demystify this, maybe not for you all, but at least if the Burmese leadership can see," Ambassador John said. "These are the people (who) we want to send in.  These are humanitarian workers.  They are ready to go in to help.  They are not going in to overthrow¹³ the government. They are not going in to spy.  They have specific skills for immediately responding to disasters."

Humanitarian workers from several countries lined up at the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok to present applications for visas.  The majority of them were turned away.   

1 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

4 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

5 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

7 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

9 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。

10 subversive   

adj.颠覆性的，破坏性的；n.破坏份子，危险份子

参考例句：

• She was seen as a potentially subversive within the party.她被看成党内潜在的颠覆分子。
• The police is investigating subversive group in the student organization.警方正调查学生组织中的搞颠覆阴谋的集团。

11 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。

12 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

13 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。