VOA标准英语2010年-US Marines Join Relief Effort in Haiti

A 2,000-strong unit of U.S. Marines began moving ashore² west of Port-au-Prince at dawn on Tuesday to help deliver relief to victims of last week's earthquake.  Some U.S. troops landed by helicopter at the presidential palace, where crowds of Haitians cheered as the troops began distributing aid.  A range of U.S. military efforts are now underway, including airdrops of supplies and the expected arrival of the huge hospital ship the USNS Comfort on Wednesday. 

With medical teams and mobile facilities from several countries already in place in Haiti, the deputy commander of the U.S. military effort there, Army Major General Daniel Allyn, says American priorities have shifted to delivering vehicles to distribute aid, machinery³ to produce clean water and equipment to clear rubble⁴ and begin reconstruction⁵.  He The U.S. troops are also working with Haitian authorities to re-establish normal production and distribution of water, fuel and other key supplies.

At the same time, General Allyn says the military units must continue to transport food, water and other critical items that are needed immediately.  "The delivery of capability⁶ here in Haiti is a balancing act that requires troops on the ground to distribute humanitarian⁷ assistance, the supplies for them to distribute and the mobility⁸ necessary for them to be able to reach the communities that are most stricken," he said.

General Allyn says U.N. and Haitian forces continue to have lead responsibility for security, which he says has been mostly good in very difficult circumstances. "We are watching for signs of instability.  At present, there are pockets in areas of Haiti and the U.N. security forces are working with the Haitian national police to address those pockets as they arise.  And they have been able to effectively deal with them, and we are confident they will continue to do so," he said.

Allyn says U.S. troops so far are handling security only for their own operations - including establishing facilities on shore near the town of Leogane, west of Port-au-Prince, where a Marine¹ Expeditionary Unit began to arrive Tuesday morning.  The Marines are to distribute aid in the area, and will establish a hub for the distribution of relief supplies elsewhere.  A Pentagon spokesman says most of the Marines will be based on three ships anchored offshore⁹, with a small security force protecting equipment and supplies onshore at night.

In addition, the U.S. Air Force conducted its first airdrop of supplies on Monday, north of Port-au-Prince, using an aircraft that flew from the United States and returned there after the drop, easing pressure on the Port-au-Prince airport.

This image taken from video shows relief supplies parachuting from a US Air Force cargo¹⁰ plane flying over Haiti, 19 January 2010 Author: US Air Force

 General Allyn says such drops will resume on Wednesday.  He says ground troops need to secure drop zones for the heavy pallets of water, food and medicine, and that they need vehicles and other capabilities¹¹ to secure and distribute the aid. "As our assessment¹² determines that we have a gap between the demand on the ground and our ability to deliver, obviously we then adjust the priority on delivery of supplies coming into the theater [i.e., the area] to ensure what is needed can be met," he said.

Among those helping¹³ distribute and secure the aid are about 1,000 soldiers from one of the U.S. Army's premier¹⁴ combat units, the 82nd Airborne Division.  In all, General Allyn says within the next few days there will be about 5,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Haiti, with another 5,000 on the ships supporting the effort.  Among them, by Wednesday, will be the hospital ship USNS Comfort, which will add 1,000 beds, 12 operating rooms and hundreds of medical personnel to the resources available to help the injured.  Allyn says a Colombian hospital ship is also on the way.

The general also reports smooth operations at the Port-au-Prince airport, which has been under U.S. control since Friday by agreement with the Haitian government.  The Pentagon says the airport is handling more than 100 flights per day, nearly 10 times what it handles normally.  General Allyn says he also expects the seaport¹⁵ in the capital to begin at least limited operations during the next few days to enable delivery of supplies by sea.

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

3 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

4 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。

5 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。

6 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

7 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。

8 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

9 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

10 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。

11 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 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？

13 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。

14 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

15 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。