美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Red Cross is in Kentucky helping flood victims find food and shelter

The Red Cross is in Kentucky helping¹ flood victims find food and shelter

Transcript²

Eastern Kentucky is braced³ for more rain after floods that killed at least 28 people. NPR's A Martinez talks to Misty⁴ Thomas, who is the Western Kentucky executive director for the Red Cross.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

In eastern Kentucky, more than two dozen people are confirmed dead in the flooding that has swept away roads, bridges, businesses and homes.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: The place we were staying at, the water got up to our back door. And I reckon it's in the parking lot, and it's in the building. We've lost everything.

MART?NEZ: The Red Cross has been assisting in about a dozen shelters set up for survivors⁵. Misty Thomas is executive director of the Western Kentucky chapter of the Red Cross. Misty, welcome to the show. I know as part of Red Cross assistance efforts in eastern Kentucky, you visited some of the flooded communities. What have you seen?

MISTY THOMAS: You know, we've just seen a lot of devastation⁶, a lot of homes. Where I was yesterday in Breathitt County, the homes - the water has receded⁷, but the homes are just full of sludge and mud. And driving through communities and talking to survivors and ensuring that they know that we're here and telling them what we're offering to help and listening to their stories, validating⁸ their stories for them and just hearing those horrific moments of them having to evacuate⁹ their home, knowing that everything they own is gone and that their lives were in danger in that moment and that they were fleeing to safety. So yesterday, they were back in their homes, and they were taking these huge squeegees and just pushing the mud out the doors. And their yards were full of the debris¹⁰ from the inside, their lives, everything they own outside, piled up, completely destroyed. And it's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking to watch them have to go through that.

MART?NEZ: Is there any way those homes are usable? Because I know there's rain coming very, very soon. Any chance those homes are usable for that, at least - some shelter?

THOMAS: You know, some of the homes they could shelter in. There's no electricity and water in some of these areas. Where I was yesterday, the electricity was back on. So just depending on what that situation is for them, that will be to their discretion¹¹. But then some of the homes that we saw, there's absolutely no way they're going back in. So we're able to provide that sheltering need component¹² for the communities. We saw about 550 people overnight across 16 shelters that we're supporting and partnering with other community members to have open. And we expect those numbers to increase in days to come.

MART?NEZ: What's the biggest need right now?

THOMAS: Sheltering, food. And that's that's where we're working. We just want to make for sure that people have a safe place to stay, especially with the expected heat coming. We want to make for sure that we have shelters open where they can find a cool place, a safe place to rest their head. We do have a shelter that is allowing pets. So that's a big deal for our families as we have a lot of people who - those are - that's part of their family. And so it's nice to be able to offer that, as well.

We're providing meals for them, as well, with - we have partners that we're partnering with to make for sure that's happening. And then we're also able to supply our - we have volunteers that are helping assess medical needs, mental health needs. And then we have volunteers that work as spiritual leaders in their realm of their professions that volunteer for us. So we're able to offer that shoulder to cry on and lean in on. And then our health assessment¹³ - if they had to evacuate and they left behind medical equipment or prescriptions¹⁴ or eyeglasses, we're assessing those needs and making for sure those things that they need for survival we are helping them restore right now in these moments.

MART?NEZ: I know that western Kentucky just was hit with tornadoes¹⁵ not that long ago and now eastern Kentucky with these floods. How's the Red Cross and your colleagues there holding up right now?

THOMAS: You know, we're a resilient group of people. And Red Cross is 141 years old. So we've been doing disaster for a really long time. And in that time, there's a lot of complexities¹⁶. You know, we always say every disaster is different, and it is. So we've learned to swerve¹⁷ with those curveballs pretty smoothly¹⁸. And we are - we're doing really well. And that's the great part about the Red Cross. Volunteers were trained to be able to be there and be that comfort for the survivors of the disasters we're working in. And they do that beautifully.

MART?NEZ: Misty Thomas is with the Red Cross assisting survivors in eastern Kentucky. Misty, thank you.

THOMAS: Thank you.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 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。

3 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

5 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

6 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》

7 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

8 validating   

v.证实( validate的现在分词 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• His politics at home were validating his efforts in the hemisphere. 他的国内政策也有效地支持了他对本半球所做的努力。 来自辞典例句
• A number of different experimental approaches have aided in validating the concept. 许多不同的实验方法，有助于确证这种概念。 来自辞典例句

9 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

10 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

11 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

12 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

13 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

14 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

15 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

16 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

17 swerve   

v.突然转向，背离；n．转向，弯曲，背离

参考例句：

• Nothing will swerve him from his aims.什么也不能使他改变目标。
• Her car swerved off the road into a 6ft high brick wall.她的车突然转向冲出了马路，撞向6英尺高的一面砖墙。

18 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。