PBS高端访问:纽约飓风重灾区重整不均

 　　HARI SREENIVASAN: This week marked the second anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. And here in New York City, the recovery has been very uneven¹.

　　It's something that photographer Nathan Kensiger has documented in a series of photo essays for the website, Curbed².

　　In this waterfront community in southern Queens, flooding caused a fire that burned more than 100 homes.

　　NATHAN KENSINGER: It was kind of a wasteland, it had really just burned out a huge section of this neighborhood. All around you, you were surrounded just by the smoking remains³ of these homes that had been completely destroyed by the storm.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: This is what it looked like a year ago. And this is what it looks like today.

　　NATHAN KENSINGER: It was a shock to see how much they had rebuilt, it was pretty amazing to see. It had gone from being completely burned out and nothing there, to row upon row of houses.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: But several other shore communities here in Staten Island have gone in the opposite direction. Right after the storm, Kensinger met Jean Laurie.

　　NATHAN KENSINGER: Her house had been very damaged by the storm, but she had set up out front of her home this whole station to help give people food and water and warm clothes. She really wanted to bring her neighborhood back, even though Sandy had just happened.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: But two years later, her home site is nothing but this patch of grass and dirt. The state offered her and other homeowners the pre-storm value of their home, plus a 5-10 percent incentive⁴ with the idea that the area would be converted⁵ to a natural buffer⁶ zone against future storms.

　　Jean Laurie accepted the offer.

　　Kensinger has documented that while some New Yorkers who live by the shore have moved away from the water that did them such harm, not everyone has.

　　NATHAN KENSINGER: Geographically⁷, they are all right there on the water, and they're going to flood again. And so some of them have chosen to come back and face that. And some of them, you know, the decision was like, we can't live here anymore. We know we're going to flood soon and we don't want to face that again.

1 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

2 curbed   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Advertising aimed at children should be curbed. 针对儿童的广告应受到限制。 来自辞典例句
• Inflation needs to be curbed in Russia. 俄罗斯需要抑制通货膨胀。 来自辞典例句

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

5 converted   

adj.更换信仰的，修改的v.（使）转变( convert的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）转化；皈依；改变（信仰）

参考例句：

• The hotel is going to be converted into a nursing home. 那家旅馆将被改建成私人疗养院。
• He's living in a converted loft in lower Manhattan. 他住在下曼哈顿的一间改建的阁楼里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

7 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分