PBS高端访谈:玛丽亚飓风给波多黎各的电力带来问题

 　　Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico's power grid¹, but it turns out Puerto Rico's power company was in deep trouble before the storm struck two weeks ago.

　　"Reuters" reporter Jessica Resnick-Ault has reported on that side of the story.

　　She joins me now from Metairie, Louisiana, where she is already deployed² to cover Hurricane Nate.

　　So, here we are this far out after the storm, and according to the status that the governor's office in Puerto Rico is saying, 11.7 percent of the power is back?

　　At this point, you know, you would expect really to be returning close to full power,

　　but you have to assume that in this case, it's just the low-hanging fruit that's been brought back online.

　　So this was the 11 percent that was easy to get to, and now, they're going to have to run power lines across mountains.

　　There are really serious hurdles³ to getting the rest of the island back into service.

　　One of the things that's your report points out is they had kind of a staffing migration⁴ of people that's left the power company.

　　The people who are going to be able to put the grid back together found better jobs on the mainland because of the way the economy is going.

　　Puerto Rico has had an incredible emigration out of the island to the mainland, and the power company is no exception to the rule.

　　They've lost thousands of employees over the past five years. Some people estimate as many as 4,000 or more employees have left the company.

　　One of the things that was startling from the report is there is really not a steady stream of revenue. Not everybody pays their power bills.

　　Right. Even the government has not paid its own power bills. There are up to $700 million in uncollected bills from government agencies.

　　I've heard that some of the tech companies are trying to start helping⁵.

　　I mean, we saw kind of a Twitter conversation roll out between Elon Musk⁶ and the governor yesterday,

　　saying perhaps solar and batteries can be part of your solution, if you're rethinking this thing from scratch.

　　But even before the storm, there had been discussions about solar and renewables.

　　They even made it to the Department of Energy level with Puerto Rican officials meting⁷ with the DOE.

　　But those conversations have never materialized in real change in Puerto Rico's grid

　　because PREPA and its board have such control over the island's electricity grilled⁸ and have been resistant⁹ to change that would bring in new utilities.

　　So, where do you start building and where do you start fixing the infrastructure¹⁰?

　　I mean, what do the Army Corps¹¹ of Engineers and what do other forces do?

　　Do you start with, say, the key places, like the hospitals and kind of crucial infrastructure, the power and water?

　　So, they have a list of priorities and they'll start with critical infrastructure, like hospitals, police stations, and go from there.

　　They're very focused on making sure that any infrastructure that has to do with fuel is restored.

　　So as long as people are relying upon diesel¹² generators¹³, they need to make sure that stations that provide diesel are functioning and accessible.

　　All right. This is going to be a long, long recovery.

　　Jessica Resnick-Ault of "Reuters", thanks so much for joining us. Thank you so much for your time. undefined

1 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

4 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

5 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。

6 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

7 meting   

v.（对某人）施以，给予（处罚等）( mete的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The manager was strict and fair in meting out rewards and punishments. 经理赏罚严明。 来自互联网
• Doris Crockford. Mr. Potter. I can't believe I'm meting you at last. 我叫桃瑞丝。韦斯莱。波特先生。我真不敢相信，总算见到您了。 来自互联网

8 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

9 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

11 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

12 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

13 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》