VOA常速英语2014--塞尔维亚哀悼洪灾遇难者

 

Serbia Declares 3 Days of Mourning for Flood Victims  塞尔维亚哀悼洪灾遇难者

Serbia has declared three days of mourning for more victims of the worst floods to hit the country in more than a century.  Severe flooding this month has killed at least 40 people in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.  

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic announced Tuesday that May 21, 22 and 23 will be days of national mourning for the victims of the most severe flooding ever recorded in the region.  He did not sound optimistic.

塞尔维亚总理亚历山大·武契奇周二宣布，5月21-23日为全国哀悼日，用以哀悼该地区有史以来最强洪灾中的遇难者。他听起来并不乐观。

"We thought that because of the weather conditions, and because the water levels of the Sava River were dropping, that we were close to the end, but unfortunately the so-called backwater and the wet dams - by this I mean the fact that sandbags are filled with water - are causing more problems," said Vucic.

“考虑到目前的天气状况，而且萨瓦河的水位已经降低，我们原以为灾难将近结束，但不幸的是，所谓的回水和湿大坝，我是说沙袋里全是水，这些都导致更多问题。”

Serbia has been the hardest hit in the region.  At least 30,000 people have been evacuated¹, but many more are believed to have fled the impacted area.  

塞尔维亚是该地区受灾最严重的地区，至少3万人已经撤离，但据悉有更多人离开影响区域。

"In the scale of the material damage, we have been hit 10 times more than all the other countries in the region, and I hope this will not show in the number of victims," said Vucic.

“就物质损失的规模来说，我国受灾程度是本地区所有其他国家的10倍，我不希望遇难者人数也是这些国家的10倍。”

The United States has sent a team of experts to Serbia to assess the damage and has promised 26 tons of humanitarian² aid to the Balkans, including rescue boats, cots, blankets, portable kitchens, generators³ and water pumps.  

美国已向塞尔维亚派遣了专家团来评估损失程度，并承诺向巴尔干半岛提供26吨的人道主义援助，包括援救船、简易床、毯子、移动厨房、发电机和水泵。

Serbian Minister of Economy Dusan Vujovic welcomed the United Nations relief supplies that arrived this week from Italy.   

塞尔维亚经济部长Dusan Vujovic欢迎本周从意大利发来的联合国救援物资。

"I expect that this equipment and food supplies will get to the places where they are needed in the shortest possible time. I have the cargo⁴ lists of the delivered aid, and they will be given to the organizations dealing⁵ with the coordination⁶ and distribution of the aid," said Vujovic.

“我们希望这些设备和食物援助能尽快抵达需要者的手中，我这里有已发来援助物资的清单，我将把清单交给负责协调和分发物资的组织。”

In neighboring Bosnia, the government says it has evacuated more than a quarter of its 4 million people.  But some refuse to leave their homes.  Nevenka Djuric lost hers once before, during the Bosnian war.  

在邻国波斯尼亚，政府称已经撤离了本国400万人口中的四分之一。但也有人拒绝离开家园，Nevenka Djuric曾在波斯尼亚战争中失去家园。

"In two days, everything was destroyed that we had managed to rebuild since we returned. They say go from here, but where can we go now? We'll accommodate you in another village, they say. But we have cattle. What can we do with them? We make our living out of them," said Djuric.

“就在两天的时间内，我们归来后辛苦重建的一切都被毁了，他们要我们离开，但要到哪里去呢？他们说会把我们安置在别的村庄，但我们有牲畜的。这些牲畜怎么办呢？我们要靠这些牲畜来过活。”

Bosnian authorities are also warning about the danger of land mines left over from the three-year war of the early 1990s that could have been dislodged by the flooding.

波斯尼亚当局还警告说，20世纪90年代三年战争留下的地雷可能有危险，洪灾可能会让地雷位移。

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 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。

3 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。