中国迅速开始抗灾

As the death toll from Monday's earthquake mounted, China threw its Army into rescue operations – reflecting the priority that Beijing has increasingly put on efficient disaster relief.
随着发生于周一的地震遇难人数持续上升，中国投入了它的军队参与营救——这反映出北京对灾难营救的处理效率正在提高。

The country appears to be well prepared for such an operation, says Roger Musson, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh. "They are very good at putting together a disaster relief plan rather quickly."
位于爱丁堡的大不列颠地质测量学会的一名专家，Roger Musson认为，这个国家在灾难面前的动作井然有序，“他们组织良好，迅速启动了应急预案”。

More than 6,000 soldiers and militarized police were dispatched to the disaster area, carrying out standing orders in the event of an earthquake, a military spokesman said.
超过六千名士兵和武装警察已经被派往灾区，一名军人说，地震后已经宣布了紧急命令。

The next few days will reveal to what extent buildings in this part of central China were equipped to withstand a disaster such as this – the country's deadliest since 1976 with at least 8,500 dead as of press time.
接下来的几天里，这场中国中部地区的地震灾害将揭示那里的建筑物能在多大程度上抵御像这次这样的灾难——这场地震已经导致至少八千五百人遇难，这是自一九七六年以来遇难人数最多的一次灾难。

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who flew to Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, less than two hours after the quake hit, told reporters en route that government leaders have "asked officials at all levels to be at the front line of the fighting the earthquake and lead the people in their rescue work."
地震发生不到两小时，温家宝总理已经飞抵四川省会成都市，在飞机上他告诉记者，政府领导人已经“要求各级政府部门奔赴抗震第一线，全力领导人民进行营救工作。”

"I believe we can certainly overcome the disaster with the public and the military working together," he added in a televised statement.
在电视声明中他还说，“我坚信，我们军民一心，一定能够战胜这次灾难。”

Vast improvements in disaster relief
灾难营救得到大量改进

China's annual buffeting from typhoons has led the authorities to build an efficient disaster relief structure, according to Xue Lan, professor of public administration at Beijing's Tsinghua University.
清华大学公共管理学教授薛兰（音）认为，前几年中国遭受的台风袭击已经让当局意识到去建立一个高效的灾难应急机制。

"One dramatic improvement is in life-saving" says Professor Xue. "Death tolls have been falling in recent years even though typhoons have been getting fiercer. China is doing much better than it used to, and than other developing countries [are]."
“在营救遇难者方面中国政府有了巨大的进步”，薛教授还说。“尽管近年来的台风危害越来越大，但遇难人数逐年下降。与其他发展中国家比较，中国在这方面做得更好”。

As well as passing a special law on emergency management last year, setting out the government's responsibilities, China has built a regional network of emergency management offices, reporting to the State Council, which acts as the government's cabinet.
就在去年，中国通过了一项紧急事态处理的特别法案，它规定了政府的职责，中国已经建立了一个全国性的紧急事件处理网络，作为政府的一个机构，它随时向国务院汇报。

In a Category 1 disaster, as Monday's quake was declared, local officials are authorized to ignore normal chains of command and report directly to the top levels of government, according to Mao Shoulong, professor of public policy at Renmin University in Beijing.
人民大学公共政策教授毛受龙（音）说，当发生像这次地震这样的一类灾害时，当地政府可以绕过上级政府，直接向最高级人民政府汇报。

In addition to the thousands of soldiers and police dispatched to the epicenter in Wenchuan county, emergency medical teams were sent from major cities on the east coast to the quake zone.
与此同时，几千名士兵和警察已经被派往地震中心汶川县，紧急医疗小分队也被从东海岸的各大主要城市派往震区。

Their departure displayed a speed of official response that critics said had been lacking during China's last natural disaster, blizzards that gripped the south of the country last January.
批评家们曾经指责中国政府在最近的一次自然灾害，即一月份的暴雨中缺乏反应速度，但这一次灾难中他们显示了这种速度。

A magnitude of 7.8
事态严重

The epicenter of Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake was in Sichuan, about 57 miles northwest of the provincial capital of Chengdu. It hit in the middle of the afternoon – when classes and offices were full.
周一，这次七点八级地震发生在四川，震中仅在四川省会成都西北五十七英里处。发生地震的时候正值午后——当时人们都呆在教室和办公室里。

At one school about 60 miles from the epicenter, nearly 900 students were trapped under rubble, the Associated Press reported, citing Chinese state media. At least seven other schools in the region had collapsed, according to Xinhua, as well as chemical plants and at least one hospital.
据美联社援引中国国家媒体报道，在距离震中六十英里的地方，一所学校的大约九百名学生被困在瓦砾堆下。据新华社报道，就在这个地区同时有七所学校坍塌，同时倒塌的还有化工厂以及至少一所医院。

As many as 10,000 in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County were feared injured and 80 percent of the buildings there had been destroyed, Xinhua reported. There had been more than 300 aftershocks, state television said.
新华社报道，在北川羌族自治县至少有一万人受伤，同时百分之八十的建筑物已经被毁坏。据国家电视台报道，那里已经至少发生了三百次余震。

Nightfall, severed communications, and blocked roads have hampered rescue efforts. The overall death toll from this earthquake – with tremors reaching as far away as Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand – is expected to rise in coming days.
黄昏时分，通讯中断和道路受阻造成营救工作的困难。这次地震——其影响已经波及巴基斯坦，越南和泰国——总的遇难人数可能在接下来的几天里还会上升。

"Anything greater than [a magnitude of] 7 is very significant," says Mike Haggerty, a seismologist at the Weston Observatory at Boston College in Weston, Mass. "The magnitude is 7.8, and that's the exactly the same magnitude of the 1976 Tangshen earthquake." About 250,000 people died in that natural disaster thirty years ago.
波士顿大学威斯通天文台的地震专家Mike Haggerty认为，“任何大于七级的灾难都非常严重，这次地震的震级为七点八，与一九七六年的唐山地震相同”。三十年前，大约有二十五万人在那次自然灾难中丧生。

The key difference between the quakes on Monday and in 1976 was location, says Mr. Musson, the seismologist.
地震学家Musson先生认为，这次地震于一九七六年唐山地震的关键不同之处在于它们的位置。

"The 1976 earthquake occurred extremely close to Tangshan. The city was really sitting on top of the fault.... The good aspect is that this occurred in a remote area. The bad aspect is the population has increased," he says.
“一九七六年的地震发生在人口集中的唐山，而这座城市就位于震中的上面......现在好的方面是地震发生在边远地区，坏的方面是人口增加了”，他说。

The shallowness of Monday's earthquake will also contribute to the extent of the damage, Mr. Haggerty warns.
周一地震的震源距离地面较近，这一因素可能加重灾难造成的损失，Haggerty先生警告说。