VOA标准英语2008年-Agencies Wait for Burma's Government to Allow R

By Luis Ramirez
Bangkok
26 May 2008

Burma's assurances that it will allow in international relief workers are being put to the test as aid agencies await visas for workers seeking to help victims of Cyclone¹ Nargis. Skeptics are questioning whether Burma's military leaders will allow in a substantial number of foreign relief workers three weeks after the storm hit. At least 134,000 people are dead or missing from the storm. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from our Southeast Asia bureau in Bangkok.

More than three weeks after the cyclone hit Burma's Irawaddy Delta², the United Nations says three out of four victims have yet to receive any form of relief assistance. More than two million are suffering from lack of clean water, shelter, or medical care.

Armed with a promise from Burmese generals that they will allow international relief crews access, a number of aid workers headed into the hard-hit areas of the delta on Monday.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who traveled to Burma over the last few days, received assurances from the Burmese leadership that they would allow relief workers to enter the country, regardless of nationality. Mr. Ban said he saw the statement as a breakthrough in building trust between the reclusive generals and the international community. He said he hoped the Burmese junta³ would keep its word.

Skeptics on Monday expressed doubts. Bertil Lintner, an author in the Thai city of Chiang Mai who has written extensively on the history of the Burmese military leadership, says it is impossible to tell at this stage whether the generals' statements to Mr. Ban amount to a meaningful concession⁴.

 

"The Burmese government hasn't promised to do anything, not anything substantial. This week will be the test," said Lintner. "Will they allow more workers in? Who will they be and where will they be permitted to go? So far, it's nothing more than just an empty promise."

The Burmese government's announcement to the U.N. Secretary General came as members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United Nations attended a donors⁶' conference in Rangoon that raised $100 million in pledges on Sunday.

At the conference, Burmese Prime Minister General Thein Sein said his government welcomes more aid as long as it comes without "strings⁷ attached" and without "politicization." Officials said they consider the relief phase to be over and are now concentrating on rebuilding. They said they need $11 billion for reconstruction⁸.

Donor⁵ nations said they expect to see transparency in the Burmese government's relief efforts before they pledge any more money. Lintner and other skeptics say that until the generals actually allow the relief workers and assessment⁹ teams in, their motives¹⁰ will be in doubt.

"They will get lots of foreign aid for what they call the reconstruction, which will be to rebuild the infrastructure¹¹ and to rebuild the towns in the delta. It is also what they say they want. They don't want foreigners to come and actually help the victims of the cyclone," added Lintner. "In that sense, they haven't changed at all. They probably realize that, 'yes, we can get money from the international community if we make something that may appear as a concession."

In Bangkok, where relief workers have been waiting for weeks, the Burmese embassy did not appear to be issuing visas on Monday. The embassy was forced to close temporarily after a fire broke out in the main building. Thai officials say it was apparently¹² caused by faulty electrical wiring.

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 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。

3 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

4 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

5 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

6 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

8 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。

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 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

11 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

12 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。