VOA常速英语2007年-Red Cross Blames Bureaucratic Barriers for Bloc
时间：2019-02-06 作者：英语课 分类：VOA常速英语2007年（十一月）
Geneva
05 November 2007
A new report finds legal red tape and bureaucratic 1 barriers can seriously hamper 2 emergency aid and increase the cost of disaster relief. The report, launched by the International Federation 3 of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, calls on governments to improve their legal preparedness for disasters so people in need can receive help in a timely and efficient manner. Lisa Schlein was at the launch and has this report for VOA from Geneva.
Most people probably remember the generous outpouring of global aid when the Indian Ocean tsunami 4 struck in 2004, killing 5 one-quarter of a million people and destroying the homes and livelihoods 6 of millions more.
But, few people are aware of the legal red tape and bureaucratic hurdles 7 humanitarian 8 organizations encountered. Author of the Red Cross report, David Fisher, says these barriers greatly retarded 9 the ability of aid agencies to help the victims.
"Relief items were trapped for quite some time in customs, sometimes for periods of months-during which many of the items included have gone bad," he said. "Food has expired, medicines have expired, goods that were shipped were no longer needed. And, in some cases charges, for instance storage charges and duties associated with these goods mounted so high that the humanitarian organizations sending them, had to abandon them."
The International Red Cross Federation spent six years researching the law and legal issues involved in international disaster response. Governments, U.N. and international agencies were consulted.
A main finding of the report is that most governments are still leaving all the details of regulating international disaster relief to the last minute. It says this creates enormous problems, especially for the victims who often miss out on timely aid.
The Swiss humanitarian organization has drawn 10 up a series of voluntary guidelines to help governments better prepare for a natural or man-made disaster. If followed, it says it believes governments and international humanitarian agencies will be able to ensure that aid flows more smoothly 11 to those in need, thereby 12 reducing the number of deaths and injuries.
- The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
- In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。
- There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
- The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。
- It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
- Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。
- 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。
- Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
- Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
- First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
- With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。
- In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句
- 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。
- The progression of the disease can be retarded by early surgery. 早期手术可以抑制病情的发展。
- He was so slow that many thought him mentally retarded. 他迟钝得很，许多人以为他智力低下。
- All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
- Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
- The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
- Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。