VOA标准英语2010年-Patients' Needs Strain Resources in Ha

More than one week after the earthquake in Haiti, patients' medical needs continue to strain resources.  Since the arrival of the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort on Tuesday, medical staff have received more than 250 patients, performed more than 100 surgeries and evacuated¹ two burn victims to Miami, Florida for treatment.  The dedication² of international volunteers and the strength of the Haitian spirit are proving to be as great as the devastation³ they are facing.

They sing.  Some twenty female members of the surgical⁴ support staff at St. Francois de Sales hospital in Port-au-Prince sing.  They sit on benches in the parking lot of the hospital, folding white gauze squares, wrapping them in brown paper to create little sterile⁵ supply kits⁶ for surgeries.

And they sing praises to the Lord for being so gracious, for looking out for them.

About 10 meters away, pergolas with thick woody vines that climb and contort provide shade for patients and impromptu⁷ places to hang intravenous drip bags.  

Triage, pre-op and post-op and laboratory centers - every element of a modern hospital except the operating rooms - are outdoors under makeshift tents, ringed by the building that used to comprise this small Catholic hospital in Haiti's capital.

Doctor Jude Marie Banatte works for Catholic Relief Services.  He and the organization have a long relationship with this hospital.

"Where the tents are set up, it used to be the parking lot. So this is what we are using now to make the hospital run because the patients are so scared to stay even in that part of the building that is still okay - as far as the structural⁸ engineers said that they were structurally⁹ okay - but patients don't want to stay within them because of the aftershocks," he said.

A man on a stretcher begins to breathe heavily.  He is about 20 years old and just out of surgery. 

The doctors are concerned.  They suspect he is suffering from a pulmonary embolism, basically a blood clot¹⁰ in an artery¹¹ of the lung that could prove fatal. They do not have the capabilities¹² to treat this complication here.  At that hour, midday Friday, the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort had temporarily suspended flights for incoming patients because the ship's casualty receiving department was beyond capacity. 

No matter how vast the capabilities, how dedicated¹³ the sleep-deprived medics, how numerous the supplies, the medical needs in Port-au-Prince far outweigh¹⁴ the resources.

A Belgian doctor at St. Francois de Sales makes the decision - it is literally¹⁵ a matter of life and death. 

Several people lift the patient's mattress¹⁶ from his cot and slide it into the antiquated¹⁷ ambulance.  He is transported to a helicopter landing zone established to ferry patients to U.S. military ships for treatment.  It is a risk, as the Navy doctors are not expecting this man, but there are few alternatives.

The doctors at the helicopter landing zone treat him in a tent until helicopter operations resume in the early afternoon.  He is flown to the Comfort, and, as of Friday night, he is alive in the intensive care unit, in guarded condition. 

Earlier in the day, back at the small hospital where the staff was singing, doctors had said they did not expect him to make it through mid-afternoon.
 

1 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

2 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

3 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》

4 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

5 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

6 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。

7 impromptu   

adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地)

参考例句：

• The announcement was made in an impromptu press conference at the airport.这一宣布是在机场举行的临时新闻发布会上作出的。
• The children put on an impromptu concert for the visitors.孩子们为来访者即兴献上了一场音乐会。

8 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

9 structurally   

在结构上

参考例句：

• The house roof was (structurally) unsound. 这屋顶（结构）不牢固。
• Pinhole on shot-hole damage is never structurally significant. 针孔和蛀洞所造成的危害对结构的影响不大。

10 clot   

n.凝块；v.使凝成块

参考例句：

• Platelets are one of the components required to make blood clot.血小板是血液凝固的必须成分之一。
• The patient's blood refused to clot.病人的血液无法凝结。

11 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

12 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

13 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

14 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

15 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

16 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

17 antiquated   

adj.陈旧的，过时的

参考例句：

• Many factories are so antiquated they are not worth saving.很多工厂过于陈旧落后，已不值得挽救。
• A train of antiquated coaches was waiting for us at the siding.一列陈旧的火车在侧线上等着我们。