美国国家公共电台 NPR 国际援助物资抵达汤加

The first international shipment of humanitarian¹ aid has arrived in the Pacific nation of Tonga.

第一批国际人道主义援助物资已经抵达太平洋国家汤加。

A military plane from New Zealand arrived five days after an underwater volcanic² eruption³ killed three people and left behind extensive tsunami⁴ damage and a blanket of fallen ash.

5天前，新西兰的一架军用飞机在水下火山喷发后抵达汤加，这次火山喷发造成3人死亡，海啸造成大面积破坏，并留下一层厚厚的火山灰。

Here to tell us more about the international relief effort is reporter Ashley Westerman, who joins us from Manila.

今天我们请到了记者阿什利·韦斯特曼，他将从马尼拉和我们连线，为我们详细介绍国际救援工作。

Ashley, why did it take so long for the aid to arrive?

阿什利，为什么援助物资这么久才到?

Well, the eruption actually damaged an underwater fiber⁵ optic cable, and it knocked out the internet and phone lines across Tonga, and that made communicating with officials nearly impossible.

实际上，火山喷发损坏了一条水下光缆，切断了汤加各地的互联网和电话线，这使得与官员的沟通几乎是不可能的。

The blackout also made it difficult to assess the damage and really know what Tonga needed.

停电也使得评估损失和真正了解汤加需要什么变得困难。

But, A, a New Zealand air force plane was only able to land on Tonga's largest island, Tongatapu, after the Tongan military cleared the runway there of volcanic ash by hand.

但是，一架新西兰空军飞机只能在汤加最大的岛屿--汤加塔布岛降落，因为汤加军方用手清理了跑道上的火山灰。

Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour, the commander of Joint⁶ Forces New Zealand, told the press back in Wellington that the plane was carrying relief supplies, such as food, water generators⁷ and personal hygiene⁸ kits⁹.

新西兰联合部队司令、海军少将吉姆·吉尔摩在惠灵顿对媒体说，这架飞机携带了食品、发电机和个人卫生用品等救援物资。

And that is now being unloaded as we speak. No contact. COVID protocols¹⁰ are being adhered to rigorously.

就在我们说话的时候，正在卸载这些东西。 无接触卸载。严格遵守新冠肺炎协议。

And that aircraft will return to New Zealand tonight.

那架飞机今晚就会飞回新西兰。

Also, New Zealand isn't staying to help out?

还有，新西兰不打算留下来帮忙吗?

No, they're not, because, basically, the Tongan government has kept their COVID restrictions¹¹ in place.

不，他们不会，因为汤加政府继续实施对新冠病毒的限制措施。

And that means no outside visitors.

这就意味着不能有外来访客。

Tonga has only recorded one COVID-19 case, and officials there want to keep it that way.

汤加只记录了一例新冠肺炎病例，那里的官员希望维持这种状态。

Here's Jonathan Pryke with the Lowy Institute in Sydney.

请听乔纳森·普赖克为您从悉尼洛伊研究所发回的报道。

He told me about how Tonga has managed to use its remoteness in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to its advantage during the pandemic.

他向我讲述了汤加在疫情期间如何利用其地处太平洋中部的偏远优势。

Tonga was able to quickly put the barriers up between itself and the outside world to implement¹² quarantine systems, to stop international travel and to closely monitor freight coming in and out of the country.

汤加能够迅速在本国和外部世界之间设置障碍，以实施隔离制度，阻止国际旅行，并密切监测进出该国的货物。

So, you know, they acted swiftly, and I think that's - a lot of that's been driven by the history of Tonga's experience with the outside world and particularly Westerners and bringing disease to the country.

所以，你知道，他们迅速采取了行动，这是由汤加与外部世界，特别是西方人的经历以及给这个国家带来疾病的历史推动的。

And even though Tonga has a pretty high vaccination¹³ rate, letting international aid workers in could put their population at risk, and officials are just not willing to do that.

尽管汤加的疫苗接种率相当高，但让国际援助人员进入可能会把他们的人口置于危险之中，而官员们是不愿意这样做的。

But this means that aid groups are going to have to work with Tonga remotely, and that's not easy.

但这意味着援助组织将不得不与汤加进行远程合作，这并不容易。

But the groups I've spoken with say they'll do whatever it takes to help out.

不过我采访过的组织表示他们会尽一切努力帮助他们。

All right, so let's talk about what Tonga needs right now.

好了，我们来谈谈汤加现在需要什么。

What are their priorities as they begin to clean up?

当他们开始清理时，他们的首要任务是什么?

So the experts I've spoken with say the main concern right now is the volcanic ash that is blanketing everything.

和我交谈过的专家们说，现在最担心的是覆盖一切的火山灰。

If left for too long, it could contaminate the drinking water, and officials in Tonga say that's already started to happen.

如果放置太久，可能会污染饮用水，汤加官员表示，这种情况已经开始发生。

It can also harm crops and even livestock¹⁴.

火山灰还会危害农作物，甚至牲畜。

Volcanologist Shane Cronin at The University of Auckland says the ash itself isn't so dangerous, but what happens later can be.

奥克兰大学的火山学家谢恩·克罗宁表示，火山灰本身并没有那么危险，但之后发生的事情可能会很危险。

The ash is coated with mineral salts, and they're mainly sulfur¹⁵ and chlorine and sometimes fluorine.

火山灰上覆盖着矿物盐，主要是硫和氯，有时还有氟。

And what happens when water gets on to the ash?

当水接触到火山灰时会发生什么？

It dissolves up these salts, but then creates acid.

水溶解这些盐，然后产生酸。

And these acids, he says, make the water taste bad and can harm plants.

他表示，这些酸会让水尝起来味道不佳，还会损害植物。

Meanwhile, food security is also an issue.

与此同时，粮食安全也是一个问题。

There's been reports of widespread damage to crops, and scientists say the eruption likely killed pretty much any marine¹⁶ life nearby.

有报道称，火山爆发对农作物造成了大范围的破坏，科学家表示，火山爆发可能导致附近几乎所有海洋生物死亡。

And then finally, fixing that broken underwater fiber optic cable, but that could take weeks.

最后，修复断裂的水下光缆，但这可能需要几周时间。

1 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。

2 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

3 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

4 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

5 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 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》

8 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

9 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。

10 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

13 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

14 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

15 sulfur   

n.硫，硫磺（=sulphur）

参考例句：

• Sulfur emissions from steel mills become acid rain.炼钢厂排放出的硫形成了酸雨。
• Burning may produce sulfur oxides.燃烧可能会产生硫氧化物。

16 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。