Aid Workers Face Uphill Battle
Last week, Japan was hit by the most devastating earthquake in its history. The magnitude 9.0 quake was followed by a tsunami, which washed away whole towns. Thousands of people are now feared dead. Millions more are enduring everything from power cuts to homelessness. Most frightening of all, a Japanese nuclear power plant is struggling to control a radioactive leak.
Countries from all over the world have scrambled emergency relief teams to help. The UK, the US, Russia, and Taiwan have already deployed aid workers, doctors, and fire fighters. More than 90 countries have sent money to help the relief effort.
With the country still suffering aftershocks, the situation on the ground continues to worsen. Despite the overseas reinforcements, the Japanese Red Cross says they are fighting an uphill battle against hunger, thirst, and cold. Millions of Japanese people face an uncertain future, and not even the world’s help may be enough.
救援隊面臨日本震後棘手難題
日本於上週遭逢其史上最為嚴重的地震，高達芮氏規模9.0的強震引發海嘯，吞噬了沿海的城鎮。據估計，恐怕已有成千的民眾不幸罹難，更有數百萬人遭逢斷電及無家可歸的打擊。最令人擔憂的是日本需設法控制核能電廠輻射外洩的意外。
許多國家皆已派出緊急救援隊前往救災，英國、美國、俄羅斯及台灣都在當地佈署了救援隊、醫療及消防團隊。目前已有超過90個國家提供捐款協助。
日本居民對於餘震仍然心有餘悸，而事發現場的災情卻是每況愈下。即使各國已紛紛加入救災的行列，日本紅十字會表示，他們目前正面臨著民眾飢寒交迫的棘手難題。數百萬的日本民眾雖有來自國際的支援，面對不確定的未來，他們仍不知該何去何從。
字彙
- Magnitude 震級；規模 (用以表示地震的強度)
- Tsunami 海嘯
- nuclear power 核能發電
- radioactive 放射性的
- deploy 佈署；展開
- on the ground 現場
- reinforcement 增援部隊；援軍
解讀
Writers often use military language to describe disaster relief efforts. Here, scrambled comes from the air force phrase when fighters are sent out to protect against bombers. Deployed and reinforcements are both words associated with troops. An uphill battle is an unfavourable situation.
作者通常會使用軍中用語來形容盡力協助救災。本文引用空軍派遣戰鬥機迎戰轟炸機的用語「scrambled 緊急起飛應戰」，以及軍隊裡常用的「Deployed 佈署兵力」、「reinforcements 增援部隊」。「An uphill battle」一詞則是指「艱苦的戰鬥」。
文句練習
- Exposure to ________ material can lead to cancer.
- Reporters have travelled to the accident zone to report the news ________.
- I have never experienced an earthquake of that ________.
- They plan to ________ more troops to the area over the next six months.
- We don’t have enough troops. We need ________.
- The ________ was caused by an earthquake under the ocean floor.
- Nearly 80 percent of France’s electricity is produced by ________ plants.
文句練習解答
- radioactive
- on the ground
- magnitude
- deploy
- reinforcements
- tsunami
- nuclear power
(資料來源：British Council 英國文化協會)
本文引用自 英文資訊交流網 http://blog.cybertranslator.idv.tw/
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