THIS IS AMERICA - Recovering From a Storm Now Headed for the

THIS IS AMERICA - Recovering From a Storm Now Headed for the History Books
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, September 12, 2005

HOST:

Welcome to This is America in VOA Special English. I'm Shep O'Neal. On August twenty-ninth, Hurricane Katrina struck hard in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Winds, rains and floodwaters tore into the coast of the Gulf¹ of Mexico.

 
Federal Protective Service Police standby while FEMA contract personel prepare to remove a covered corpse² in New Orleans
No one knows yet how many people died in all. New Orleans Mayor Ray estimated that his city alone may have lost ten thousand of its almost five hundred thousand people.

However, officials have just reported that the first organized search for bodies in the city found many fewer than expected.

Now, Bob Doughty³ and Faith Lapidus continue our report on the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast and across America.

VOICE TWO:

At least thirty states have accepted refugees⁵ from Hurricane Katrina. Texas took in almost two hundred fifty thousand.

Some people who fled the storm found temporary housing with family or friends. Thousands found refuge⁴ in hotels. Or schools. Or sports centers, like the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.

 
 
Katrina damaged the Superdome, the main sports center in New Orleans. But it became a temporary shelter for thousands. Many stayed there for days; they had no place else to go. It was hot, crowded and dirty. Conditions became deplorable. There were deaths but the bodies were not removed. Finally, buses came. They took the people to the Astrodome and other shelters.

Survivors⁶ of Katrina are in shelters operated by the Red Cross, the Salvation⁷ Army and other organizations. Religious groups have opened their doors to the homeless. So have private citizens. Hospitals and nursing homes in faraway states have offered to accept some of the sick and injured.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

First came Katrina, now comes the political storm. The federal government faces intense criticism and anger over the way it reacted to the hurricane. A major target is the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Critics say FEMA waited too long to send help.

Helicopters rescued many people from the floodwaters. But reports told of others who died as they waited for someone to save them. Many people went without food or water in the summer heat.

People had been warned to leave their homes before the hurricane hit land. Some stayed because they had survived other storms. Some were too sick or too old to leave, or had to take care of others. Some did not own automobiles⁸; many of the victims lived in poverty. And some simply would not go.

President Bush called the early efforts by the government unacceptable. He says he will lead an investigation⁹ into what went wrong. Congress plans it own investigation. Republican¹⁰ Senator¹¹ Susan Collins of Maine said "governments at all levels failed."

President Bush last week asked Congress for fifty-two thousand million dollars more for storm aid. That was in addition to the ten and one-half thousand million dollars already approved.

VOICE TWO:

There are charges of racism¹². Many of the victims were black. In New Orleans, two out of three people are African-American. Some critics say the federal government did not act faster because it did not care about the victims.

Officials say the high water slowed the arrival of help. Yet that was not the only danger for rescue workers.

 
 
In New Orleans, when flood controls failed, so did law and order. People entered stores to find food, drinking water and diapers for babies. But people also stole things like televisions and guns. Anarchy¹³ spread in the streets.

Armed troops helped police suppress¹⁴ the lawlessness. Some of the soldiers compared the situation to what they had experienced in Iraq.

VOICE ONE:

Tens of thousands of National Guard and other military service members are involved in the rescue and recovery efforts.

Repair crews have worked hard in their efforts to return electric power to homes and businesses on the Gulf Coast. Workers have also restarted oil and natural-gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

American drivers quickly saw the effects of Katrina on fuel prices, which were already high. Now, there are worries about prices for home heating fuel this winter.

The storm could reduce American economic growth by as much as a full percentage point for the remainder¹⁵ of the year. That was the estimate last week by the Congressional Budget Office. Economists¹⁶ there say four hundred thousand jobs may be lost. But they say the economic damage should not cause a recession¹⁷.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Games of chance were lucky for people in Biloxi, Mississippi. The local economy depends on them. Now, because of the storm, Biloxi has lost most of its casinos. The workers are out of jobs, though some other businesses in the city are open again.

The community of Bayou Le Batre, in Alabama, has about two thousand five hundred people. They depend heavily on the seafood¹⁸ industry. But a lot of boats were blown onto land. Some of the owners do not have enough money for repairs. They might have to join other fishermen along the Gulf Coast who have declared the season a loss.

VOICE ONE:

After Katrina hit, there was no lack of heroes. Helicopter crews from the Coast Guard made rescue after rescue in dangerous conditions. They pulled people out of floodwaters and off rooftops. There were stories of emergency workers who stayed on the job even as they worried about their own families. And the list goes on.

 
 
There are efforts across the nation to collect money for survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Two former presidents, the first George Bush and Bill Clinton, will lead a private campaign. They led a similar effort after the earthquake and tsunami¹⁹ waves in the Indian Ocean last December. Countries that received American aid are now among the nations that have offered assistance.

VOICE TWO:

The Internet has served as a way for people to give money. But it has also helped meet other important needs. Web sites have reunited people separated by the storm.

And the Internet has also provided a way for many storm refugees to stay informed of local news. The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans had to suspend printing, but it could still publish on its Web site. Which made sense, because most of its readers also had to flee the city.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

People in New Orleans always knew something like this could happen. The city was built below sea level. The waters of Lake Pontchartrain are to the north. The Mississippi River is to the south. A flood control system around the city includes pumping stations and dams made of earth and concrete. Katrina turned and did not even hit New Orleans with its most powerful winds and rain. Still, it caused two levees to break the next day. Most of the city was flooded.

 
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin
Last week, engineers began to pump floodwaters out of the city. The long process got off to a slow start. Public health officials warned that the water is a poisonous mix of chemicals, waste and bacteria. Fires and natural-gas leaks only added to the dangers.

By the middle of last week, as many as ten thousand people were believed to remain in New Orleans. Mayor Ray Nagin ordered them to leave or be removed by force, if necessary.

VOICE TWO:

The city of New Orleans was established in seventeen eighteen. It began as a French colony. It survived fires and disease. It survived hurricanes and floods, to become one of America's most interesting cities.

In seventeen sixty-two, the king of France gave the Louisiana Territory to his cousin, the king of Spain. But in eighteen hundred France secretly regained²⁰ control. Three years later, France sold Louisiana to the United States.

VOICE ONE:

Over the years, New Orleans became well known for its celebrations of in the spring. The city is also famous for its music. New Orleans is known as the birthplace of jazz. Places like Preservation²¹ Hall in the French Quarter have helped keep the traditions alive.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The French Quarter suffered wind damage from Katrina, but the ground was high enough to escape the flooding.

People in New Orleans know that their city could suffer storms even worse than Hurricane Katrina. Some say they want to make a new life elsewhere. But others want to rebuild and start again. Similar decisions will have to be made in many other places, as the Gulf Coast deals with a storm now headed for the history books.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver²². Our shows are online at www.tingroom.com. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. To send us e-mail, write to [email protected]. And we hope you join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

3 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

4 refuge   

n.避难（处），庇护（所）；v.庇护，避难（所）

参考例句：

• They took refuge in a cave yesterday.他们昨天是在一个洞里避难的。
• We took refuge in the lee of the wall.我们在墙的背风处暂避。

5 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

6 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

7 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

8 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 republican   

n.拥护共和政体的人； adj.共和政体的，（Republican）共和党人，（Republican）共和党的

参考例句：

• Some families have been republican for generations.有些家庭世代都支持共和党。
• A third candidate has entered the contest for the Republican nomination.第三个候选人已经加入角逐共和党提名的行列。

11 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

12 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

13 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

14 suppress   

vt.压制，镇压，查禁，抑制，阻止

参考例句：

• He continued to suppress the people and serve the imperialists.他继续镇压人民，为帝国主义效劳。
• She was struggling to suppress her sobs.她拼命不让自己哭出来。

15 remainder   

n.余下的部分，剩下的人数

参考例句：

• They joined up with us to spend the remainder of the holiday.他们来跟我们一起共度余下的假期。
• He spent the remainder of his years in Japan.他在日本度过了余生。

16 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

18 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

19 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

20 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

21 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

22 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。