The Philippines struggles to recover from a typhoon, especially Siargao Island

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The Philippines struggles to recover from a typhoon, especially Siargao Island

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The devastating² typhoon that ripped through the Philippines before Christmas left a path of destruction. One month on, conditions on a fabled³ tourist destination are bleak⁴.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Lying in the path of many of the fiercest storms in the Pacific Ocean, the Philippines is accustomed to natural disasters. But one month after super Typhoon Rai laid waste to a swath of Philippine islands, rehabilitation⁵ has been painfully slow. NPR's Julie McCarthy reports on one of the island's worst affected⁷ and last to receive help.

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE⁸: Super Typhoon Rai roared ashore⁹ on the island of Siargao December 16, unleashing¹⁰ 120-mile-per-hour winds. Thirty-nine-year-old Kara Ahorro (ph) says one minute, she and her partner were quietly eating breakfast at home. And the next minute, coconuts¹¹ were falling to the ground like small bombs.

KARA AHORRO: Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom - one after the other.

MCCARTHY: Trees began falling in rapid succession.

AHORRO: They were uprooted¹². And this is a huge, adult mango tree.

MCCARTHY: Pulling on boots and a helmet, Ahorro's partner ventured out to check on neighbors, mostly women living alone, and found them sheltering under a massive wooden dining table as the tempest tore apart their homes.

AHORRO: I saw several parts of houses fly. Like, I see walls fly. I see doors fly. Even flooring, like, wooden floors, they are flying. And then the aluminum¹³ sheets, they're like blades hitting and cutting through everything.

MCCARTHY: These days, islanders rise early to reconstruct their homes in this Pacific-facing tourist spot fabled for its surfing. It bore the full fury of the storm, then looting. More than 7,000 homes were destroyed or damaged in this town, named for a military man in the Philippine-American War, General Luna. A low-slung paradise dotted with beach bars and resorts, it attracts the smart set and backpackers alike. The storm leveled it.

NORMAN TILOS: A lot of resorts, our cafes and restaurants are really demolished¹⁴. I think 90% either demolished or heavily damaged.

MCCARTHY: That's Norman Tilos, who huddled¹⁵ with visitors in a large bathroom at his boutique guesthouse named The Living Room. He lost his thatched roof, but the concrete house survived. A management consultant¹⁶ by day, Tilos discovered Siargao, dubbed¹⁷ the most beautiful island in Asia, in 2019. And The Living Room became his passion project.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

MCCARTHY: His passion now is rebuilding. An older man instructs a younger one hammering nails in one of Tilos' projects. He's restoring 31 of the 51 houses destroyed in his village. Tilos has distributed tarps, medicine and hygiene¹⁸ kits¹⁹ to his neighbors. He's raised $8,000 to install water pumps and water filters to stave off dysentery, and supplied plywood, metal sheets and chainsaws to reconstruct homes. Tilos says the government has failed to assess need and that from Day 1, the private sector²⁰ has been far ahead of government in restoring the island.

TILOS: The strong sense of community is there. And then days later, the government came in. But as far as I'm concerned, it's really the private sector that's very visible and doing so much. And I think we will recover fast because of this.

MCCARTHY: Kara Ahorro says some local governments are commendably²¹ organized, while others used the crisis to promote themselves in the upcoming election. She says private donations of rice were confiscated²² in order to slap campaign stickers on the bags.

AHORRO: We're in the middle of a disaster. We're in the middle of an emergency. And you would have the gall²³ to prolong the distribution because you have to put your name on the items? So yeah, again, corruption²⁴ at the lowest level.

MCCARTHY: Though the Philippine Armed Forces has been shipping²⁵ in supplies, spokesman Colonel Ramon Zagala says Siargao's airport is still not fully⁶ operational. But the most frustrating²⁶ for islanders is that the electric power grid²⁷ got wiped out in the storm, and likely won't be back up for months. The colonel says the military lacks the expertise²⁸ to repair it.

RAMON ZAGALA: A lot of the local government units and electric companies are doing their best. What I can tell you right now is that the island is running on generators²⁹ to bring the island some power.

MCCARTHY: Meanwhile, some 45,000 people on the island still languish³⁰ in evacuation centers. Philippine Red Cross chairman, Senator Richard Gordon, says Siargao is but a slice of the country's broader devastation³¹ that he says is every bit as bad as Typhoon Haiyan, which killed 6,000 people in 2013. Then, the international community swarmed³² to the rescue. Today, Japan, China, the EU and the U.S. have pledged only modest aid. Gordon says the Philippines is competing with the pandemic for the world's attention. And he's worried.

RICHARD GORDON: It is like Haiyan. Haiyan killed more people. This one is killing³³ the people slowly.

MCCARTHY: Gordon's urgent appeal is that Typhoon Rai not become the forgotten disaster.

Julie McCarthy, NPR News.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 fabled   

adj.寓言中的，虚构的

参考例句：

• For the first week he never actually saw the fabled Jack. 第一周他实际上从没见到传说中的杰克。
• Aphrodite, the Greek goddness of love, is fabled to have been born of the foam of the sea. 希腊爱神阿美罗狄蒂据说是诞生于海浪泡沫之中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

5 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

10 unleashing   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Company logos: making people's life better by unleashing Cummins power. 公司理念：以康明斯动力建设更美好的生活！ 来自互联网
• Sooner or later the dam will burst, unleashing catastrophic destruction. 否则堤坝将崩溃，酿成灾难。 来自互联网

11 coconuts   

n.椰子( coconut的名词复数 )；椰肉，椰果

参考例句：

• We found a bountiful supply of coconuts on the island. 我们发现岛上有充足的椰子供应。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Coconuts provide "meat", drink, oil, soap and fiber for fishing line. 椰子提供“肉类”，饮料、油脂、肥皂和做钓（鱼）丝的纤维。 来自百科语句

12 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

14 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

15 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

16 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

17 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

19 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

20 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

21 commendably   

很好地

参考例句：

• So, workflow management technology is create, and then develop commendably. 于是工作流管理技术应运而生，并且蓬勃发展起来。 来自互联网
• Mr McCain is a commendably committed free-trader. 麦凯恩是一个标志明显的自由贸易主义者。 来自互联网

22 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

23 gall   

v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难

参考例句：

• It galled him to have to ask for a loan.必须向人借钱使他感到难堪。
• No gall,no glory.没有磨难，何来荣耀。

24 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

25 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

26 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

28 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

29 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 languish   

vi.变得衰弱无力，失去活力，（植物等）凋萎

参考例句：

• Without the founder's drive and direction,the company gradually languished.没有了创始人的斗志与指引，公司逐渐走向没落。
• New products languish on the drawing board.新产品在计划阶段即告失败。

31 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

33 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• 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。