VOA Standard English

Panetta Orders Military Ethics Review

Investigations into the actions of several generals this year, including Afghanistan commander General John Allen and retired General David Petraeus, have prompted a review to find out why so many top officers have been accused of misconduct.
In an exclusive interview with the Voice of America, Defense Secretary Panetta suggests the problems are isolated, but says a cleanup is necessary.
“Obviously, I'm concerned about some of these recent events but I don't think we're dealing with a systemic problem. I think we're dealing with some individual issues that all kind of came together at the same time. Having said that, we're coming out of 10 years of war and I really do think that it's probably important that we begin to look again at how we can make sure that we maintain the highest ethical standards," he said.
Panetta's trip is intended to boost military ties with Southeast Asian nations as part of the Pentagon's new focus on the Pacific.
That involves building the defense capacity of partner nations, like Thailand.

At a time when the U.S. defense budget faces signficant cuts, there are questions as to whether Washington can make good on its commitments to its partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
“The first thing that I assure them of is that the United States has been the strongest military power in the world, that we are the strongest military power in the world, and that we will always be the strongest military power in the world; that even in light of the budget reductions that we've gone through that we've established a strategy for the United States in terms of our defense force for the 21st century that will make sure that we remain the strongest military force in the future," he said.
The U.S. is highlighting its policy in the coming days with a full-force presence in the region: Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are stopping here in Thailand and in Cambodia ahead of a visit by President Barack Obama next week.

Afghan Economy Slows

Row upon row of heavy construction equipment lies idle along Kabul's Jalalabad Road as international contracts begin to dry up with international forces pulling out. Machines like these had been used to build the heavily fortified bases that coalition troops established around the country.
Business owner Haji Abdul Khalil Ahmadzai used to sell 10 - 15 of these machines a month. Now he is lucky if he sells one.
"The country's situation is getting worse, we can't sell our equipment, or send them out, sometimes the insurgents burn our vehicles," Ahmadzai said. "Our country is going through hard times. Work is slowing down, it's not like it was in the past."
Ahmadzai's worries are echoed across the business community.

my God！my eyes！

In an effort to prevent a steep economic downturn which could further destabilize already weak government institutions, U.S. and Afghan officials are trying to attract investment in the country's mineral, agricultural and energy resources.
Noorullah Delawari, governor of Afghanistan's Central Bank, says the country's GDP growth is healthy and that a pledge of $16 billion in international aid will help.
"We have been given assurance, people are hopeful, we are all hopeful in accordance with agreements we have with the donors that will carry us at least to 2020 even 2024," said Delawari. "So with those negotiated or promised support to Afghanistan, I believe we can carry on our economic activities at the same level we have had as we have in the past few years."
But some say businessmen are beginning to cash their money in for dollars.

Former minister and current economics professor Hamidullah Farooqi says the government has failed to create a healthy economy.
"The majority of our economy is, unfortunately, illegal, and the forces of the mafia system and mafia economy are huge, and that creates enough difficulty for the legal economy, for the economic forces which were in the society," Farooqi noted.
Farooqi predicts even tougher economic times are ahead, if Afghanistan's government doesn't start working harder for its people.

My God My 大脑。。 English fly low score 表示 亚历山大。

oh my jb

TECHNOLOGY REPORT - Mobile Phones Could Help Efforts to End Malaria
科技报道 - 手机可能有助于终结疟疾
From VOA Learning English, this is the TECHNOLOGY REPORT in Special English.

Scientists say malaria-carrying mosquitoes cannot travel far on their own. But the insects can, and do, catch rides in the belongings of people who travel. Malaria also can be spread by people who come from an area with large numbers of malaria cases. They may show no signs of having the disease themselves.
科学家称，携带疟疾的蚊子靠自身力量飞不了多远，但它可以依附在旅行者的行李上传播。来自有大量疟疾病例地区的人也可以传播疟疾，他们自身可能并没有患病的症状。
That is what Harvard University researchers discovered in Kenya. They found that the disease mainly spreads east from the country’s Lake Victoria area with people who travel to the capital, Nairobi.
这就是哈佛大学的研究人员在肯尼亚的发现。他们发现疟疾主要通过前往首都内罗毕的人们从维多利亚湖地区向东传播。

前排

Researchers with the Harvard School of Public Health reported the finding. It was based on the mobile phone records of fifteen million Kenyans.
哈佛大学公共卫生学院的研究人员报告了这一结论，该结论是基于1500万肯尼亚人的手机通话记录而得出的。
Caroline Buckee is an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard school. She says one of the first steps in stopping malaria is to learn how human travel might be adding to its spread. She says it has been difficult to follow large population movements with methods like government census records.
卡洛琳·巴基（Caroline Buckee）是哈佛大学一名流行病学助理教授。她表示，终结疟疾的首要步骤之一就是了解人类旅行会如何增加其传播。她说用人口普查记录之类的方法很难跟踪大规模的人口流动。
“But mobile phones offer a really unique way, on an unprecedented scale, to understand how a whole population is moving around.”
“但手机提供了一种独特方式来了解人口如何以前所未有的规模进行流动。”

In Kenya, the researchers estimated the distance and length of each phone user’s trip away from home. This information was based on messages to and from the mobile phone carrier’s twelve thousand transmission towers.
在肯尼亚，研究人员估算了每位手机用户的行程离家的距离。这些数据是基于手机运营商1.2万个发射塔接收和发送的信息得出的。
The researchers then compared that information to a map showing reports of malaria in different parts of the country. The researchers estimated each user’s probability of being infected in a given area. They also estimated the likelihood that a visitor to that area would become infected.
研究人员随后将这些数据与该国不同地区疟疾报告的地图进行对比。他们估算出每个用户在某个地区感染的可能性，还估算出游客到该地区被感染的可能性。
The result was a picture showing malaria transmission routes starting in Lake Victoria. Caroline Buckee says such evidence could influence malaria control efforts.
研究结果显示疟疾传播途径始于维多利亚湖。巴基表示，这些证据能够影响疟疾的控制措施。
“One thing that you could consider is sending text messages to people coming to high risk cell towers, for example, reminding them to use a bed net. And I think those types of approaches are simple but they would hopefully target people who are asymptomatic and unaware that they are carrying parasites.”
“可以考虑做一件事，就是给那些到高风险地区的人发送短信，例如提醒他们使用蚊帐。我认为这类手段很简单，但它们有望能够直接抵达那些没有症状且没有意识到自己携带了寄生虫的人群。”
She says researchers are investigating using mobile phone records in other areas to help identify malaria transmission routes. A report on the study was published in the Journal Science.
她说，研究人员正在研究利用其它地区的手机通话记录帮助确定疟疾传播途径。关于该研究的报告发表在《科学》杂志上。

A Better Way to Light Homes of People Off the Grid
新技术帮助非洲人获得电力

Whether you are on or off the grid, access to sufficient energy is a huge challenge for millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. There is a reason for that, says Vijay Iyer, director of the World Bank's department of sustainable energy.
对于撒哈拉以南无数非洲人来说，不管当地是否连接上电网，获得足够的电力供应都是个问题。世界银行可持续能源部的部长杰艾说原因之一是：

“There have not been enough investments in the energy sector over a long period of time," said Iyer. "It has not been a very high priority for governments to develop.”
“电力能源方面的投资长期不足，许多非洲国家并没有将发展电力作为头等大事。”

Three years ago, the IFC and The World Bank launched a program called "Lighting Africa" to provide modern energy to people without access to the grid.
三年前，IFC和世界银行成立了“照亮非洲”项目，目的是给那些无法从电网获得电力的非洲人提供现代能源。
"We saw an opportunity there to leverage the money that they are already spending for kerosene to bring in better technologies, mostly solar lighting," he said.
“我们看到一个机会，可以将那些贫穷的人原本用于煤油消费上的钱充分利用起来，带给他们更好的现代技术，主要是用太阳能照明。”