[9급 지방직 영어 2009년 13번]

In one of the most widespread man-made disasters the region has known, smoke from the fires has blanketed a broad swath of Southeast Asia this month.

Flights have been canceled around the region, the busy shipping lanes of the Strait of Malacca have been disrupted by low visibility, and millions of people are coughing and wheezing. It is impossible to say how many people have been made sick by the smoke.

The fires are mostly intentionally set. Hundreds of Indonesian and Malaysian companies - mostly large agricultural concerns, and some with high-placed Government connections - are using fire as a cheap and illegal means of land-clearing.