CNN 2011-01-01

I'm Randi Kaye for Anderson Cooper welcome to the 360 podcast.

People still stranded¹ at the airports. The question is who's to blame. Also at 360 exclusive the American aid worker freed from the Haitian prison and more. Let's get started.

We begin tonight "Keeping Them Honest" on who or what's to blame for all the misery² so many air travelers are still going through days after the blizzard³, the outrage⁴ boiling over again today, as five new international flights are trapped on the tarmac at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, passengers waiting for up to nine hours to get off their planes, then hours more to retrieve⁵ their luggage.

A total of 29 international flights have been stranded on the tarmacs of New York airports this week, including a Cathay Pacific flight stuck for a mind-boggling 11 hours.

Of course, the problems didn't stop there. We can't forget the tens of thousands of air travelers around the country whose holiday plans were torpedoed⁶ by cancellations and flight delays, with no help in sight. Some won't make it to their destinations until after the new year. And the initial anger and frustration⁷ is only growing.

We looked up at the screen and it said canceled within three minutes of walking into the door. So, we had no other plans. We didn't prolong our hotel stay. We didn't do anything.

They're telling us that they can't tell us anything.

The airlines couldn't tell us anything. That sounds highly inefficient⁸.

We're on a standby right now. If that doesn't come through, then we will be in real big trouble.

I'm definitely going to get home sooner or later. If I don't, I have got to stay here.

I don't have any choice.

More than 10,000 flights have been canceled since last weekend's blizzard dumped 20 inches of snow on New York, bringing air traffic to a standstill from coast to coast.

And with airline phone lines, Web sites and reservation agents overloaded⁹, re-booking those flights has been a nightmare. Imagine calling desperate for help, only to get this message.

Thanks for calling Continental¹⁰ Airlines. Due to the weather in the Northeast, we're experiencing unusually high call volume and are unable to take your call. You can check the status of a flight or check in for a flight from your handheld device by going to PDA.Continental.com and enter your flight information.

So, what exactly went wrong? Some experts argue nothing did. They say the aviation system is working just fine, given the circumstances.

The aviation system is not broken at all. We had the severe weather situation in the Northeast United States.

1 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

2 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

3 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

4 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

5 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

6 torpedoed   

用鱼雷袭击（torpedo的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Her comments had torpedoed the deal. 她的一番话使得那笔交易彻底告吹。
• The battle ship was torpedoed. 该战列舰遭到了鱼雷的袭击。

7 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

8 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

9 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

10 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。