PBS高端访谈:休斯敦饭店团体为灾民和急救人员提供服务

 　　The outpouring of people helping¹ those in need has been enormous² in Houston over the past few days.

　　One example is a group of restauranteurs and chefs who got together to supply food to both victims and first-responders.

　　Houston Public Media's Tomeka Weatherspoon paid a visit. She joins me now from the Convention³ Center. Tomeka, what are the restaurants doing?

　　They're gathering⁴ together to help each other and to help the community.

　　So, we visited Reef⁵ Restaurants today, and they're making so much food. Yesterday, they told me they made 10,000 meals to give away to hospitals, evacuees⁶, and first-responders.

　　I talked with co-owner of the restaurant Jennifer Caswell. And she said the restaurant community is just really tight-knit and they just wanted to do something to help.

　　As we sat there and watched what was going on and we knew that we wouldn't be able to come back in here and serve our customers, we knew that we had product that had to be gone through.

　　we also knew that we had customers and vendors⁷ that wanted to help. And we wanted to turn the kitchen into a hub to be able to do that.

　　And we know that our chef community and our restaurant community is such a strong and well-knit community that we could get everybody on the same page and working together towards that goal.

　　So, Tomeka, how do the restaurants figure out how and where to send the food?

　　Well, initially⁸, it seemed like they just put the word out that they were available to help in any way that anyone needed.

　　And, you know, I was talking to some chef this morning, and they were saying now they're just getting requests.

　　They're getting text messages. Can you please help us with this? And they are more than happy to help.

　　And they're getting a lot of volunteers too.

　　So, I talked with a volunteer who is helping in another way. His name was Gavin Torabi.

　　And he was going around to precincts, and he went to a station in Southwest Houston to see what they needed.

　　They were down to basically⁹ tortilla chips and water.

　　And I said, instead of helping aimlessly wander, let's direct our focus. And it started out. We asked, how many mouths do they have?

　　They said, we can't tell you. So, we guesstimated, bought 50. And 50 turned into 100, and 100 turned into 200. And, like I said, we're up into the 2,000s now.

　　And, Miles, like I said, people are volunteering in a lot of different ways.

　　One really crucial¹⁰ way is physically¹¹ driving the food to these locations, to these hospitals, to these shelters.

　　I talked with and rode with a volunteer driver. His name was Mark Austin.

　　And he pointed¹² out he is delivering food from some of the best places to eat in Houston.

　　In the last 24 hours, I have delivered food from Reef, Riel Restaurant, Hugo's, Brennan's.

　　So it's not -- we're not just delivering ham sandwiches to people.

　　We're delivering hot, fresh, best product food, you know, from James Beard Award-winning chefs.

　　Tomeka, I imagine there are a lot of other people and a lot of other places that could use this kind of service.

　　I think of assisted-living facilities, even private homes. Are there plans to expand?

　　Well, right now, they're really trying to get organized, because demand is so high. And they're really just getting off the ground.

　　So many restaurants had flooding issues and travel issues. And they have just so many demands they need to meet.

　　I was talking to one chef, and he was saying you know, they ran out of protein really quickly.

　　But because of all the volunteers, they were able to get it within the hour.

　　Another restaurant owner said you know, what we really need is refrigerated trucks.

　　But the need changes minute by minute as the situation here keeps changing.

　　It's great to see that kind of response. Tomeka Weatherspoon with Houston Public Media, thank you. Thank you. undefined

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 enormous   

adj.巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• An enormous sum of money is injected each year into teaching.每年都有大量资金投入到教学中。
• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。

3 convention   

n.惯例，习俗，常规，会议，大会

参考例句：

• How many delegates have checked in at the convention?大会已有多少代表报到？
• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 reef   

n.礁，礁石，暗礁

参考例句：

• The ship and its crew were lost on the reef.那条船及船员都触礁遇难了。
• The ship was wrecked on a coral reef.这条船在珊瑚暗礁上撞毁了。

6 evacuees   

n.被疏散者( evacuee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Moreover, for multi-exits, evacuees select a exit based on game theory. 在有多个出口时，疏散人员根据对策论选择出口。 来自互联网
• Evacuees wade through flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar on Saturday, July 31, 2010. 撤离灾区涉水通过后在白沙瓦沉重的季风降雨在周六，2010年7月31日。 来自互联网

7 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

9 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

10 crucial   

adj.极重要的，决定性的，关键性的

参考例句：

• It's a crucial decision.这是一个极其重要的决定。
• The foreign market was increasingly crucial.国外市场越来越重要了。

11 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

12 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。