Thefallout日本灾难的后果.doc

Japans hydra-headed disaster日本的多重灾难The fallout日本灾难的后果Some natural disasters change history. Japan’s tsunami could be one 一些自然灾害改变了历史。日本的海啸就是一例。THAT “tsunami” is one of the few Japanese words in global use points to the country’s familiarity with natural disaster. But even measured against Japan’s painful history, its plight today is miserable. The magnitude-9 earthquake—the largest ever in the country’s history, equivalent in power to 30,000 Hiroshimas—was followed by a wave which wiped out whole towns. With news dribbling out from stricken coastal communities, the scale of the horror is still sinking in. The surge of icy water shoved the debris of destroyed towns miles inland, killing most of those too old or too slow to scramble to higher ground (see article). The official death toll of 5,429 will certainly rise. In several towns over half the population has drowned or is missing.海啸一词是全球通用的为数不多的日本词语之一，这表明日本对自然灾害相当熟悉。9级大地震是日本史上最大的地震，其强度相当于广岛受到原子弹影响的三万 倍，随之而来的巨浪将所有城镇夷为了平地。随着消息从受灾严重的沿海社区逐渐传出，受灾情况渐渐清楚了。冰冷的浪潮将摧毁的城镇的废墟冲到数英里之外的内 陆地区，导致大多数因年老或动作缓慢无法爬到较高地方的人丧生。目前官方公布的死亡人数为5429人，但死亡人数必定将上升。在多个城镇，逾一半人口淹死 或失踪。In the face of calamity, a decent people has proved extremely resilient: no looting; very little complaining among the tsunami survivors. In Tokyo people queued patiently to meet their tax deadlines. Everywhere there was a calm determination to conjure a little order out of chaos. Volunteers have rushed to help. The country’s Self-Defence Forces, which dithered in response to the Kobe earthquake in 1995, have poured into the stricken area. Naoto Kan, the prime minister, who started the crisis with very low public support, has so far managed to keep a semblance of order in the country, despite a series of calamities that would challenge even the strongest of leaders. The government’s inept handling of the Kobe disaster did much to undermine Japan’s confidence in itself.在灾难面前，事实证明，一个温文尔雅的民族适应力非常强：没有抢劫、海啸的幸存者没有什么抱怨。在东京，人们耐心地排队等待他们的缴税期限。每个地方，人 们从容不迫，决定在混乱中建立一点秩序。志愿