万花筒 2010-01-14&01-16 海地地震现场连线

--Well, I was actually standing¹ outside of our building. I had gone to my car, and then there was this tremor² and a sound, then I felt a little bit dizzy. But I wasn't absolutely sure it was an earthquake. So then I entered the building to check on my colleagues.  Then they were, we were, all making their way downstairs. Because they said there was an earthquake and we had to clear the building.

And so, I kind of took them all off the work and I made sure we had cleared the building. We had our quick check-off list and meeting downstairs and then headed back to our desks because we recognized that persons in Jamaica who would've felt it would've been calling the office to ensure that they get the information that they need.

And as I speak to you, I'm little bit still nervous. There are people here were under their desks for a little while. But we are now actually looking to advice the Jamaican population that we are not under threat at this time. And that they should stay clam³. And we are listening to the news coming out of Haiti. Huh, we are very concerned because we recognized that there seems to be a lot of damage there, from what we're hearing. So, we are just waiting to hear what else there is that's happening around the region.

--What details have you been hearing? We've heard a hospital collapsing⁴, a three-story building collapsing, A US government official reporter is saying houses that are tumbled into ravine. But you are near the action, so to speak, what have you heard?

--Well, we haven’t heard anything directly out of Haiti and my director general at this time is coordinating⁵ some information coming out of there. But I think for us here at our information desk, we are already bombarded by persons in our own country trying to get information. So I am not privileged to that information just yet, or situation report have let come to me, but what I do know is that whatever happened there, we are ready and waiting to see how we can lend assistance in that area.

--How many people have been calling your office then?

--Well, we've had at least 15 calls so far, we have set up three interviews with the local press and we have to send out one press release that we've amended⁶ to ensure that the necessary information from the Northwestern Tsunami⁷ Pacific--our Warning Center, is, is clear, so we wanna make sure that all the information that we're giving at this time is clear to Jamaican, then to ensure that they understand that we are safe at this time, but we are watching to find out what exactly is happening. We are not sure in terms of the any type of other aftershocks, and any other area in Jamaica, we're waiting to hear information from that.

--And for people who aren't aware of the region, tell us a little bit about Haiti. Everybody talks about how poor it is, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Does that mean the buildings there are more likely to have been hit hard?

--I think so. And I think what we hear from the hospital is unfortunate,because then those are persons who already need critical care,huh, that would need more care. And so I think given the, huh the, the magnitude of the, the earthquake, I, I'm sure that, huh, they would have some structure, huh, implication for them there. Huh, from what I've also seen from visiting that island, huh, the structures there are not always like we have here in Jamaica, concrete structure that are very secure. So I am not surprised that they might be experiencing a lot of infrastructure⁸ damage. But to the extent that there are maybe loss of life, I am waiting now to find out more information as to the person that may need assistance and assistance from the region, so we're waiting to hear information from there.

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

3 clam   

n.蛤，蛤肉

参考例句：

• Yup!I also like clam soup and sea cucumbers.对呀！我还喜欢蛤仔汤和海参。
• The barnacle and the clam are two examples of filter feeders.藤壶和蛤类是滤过觅食者的两种例子。

4 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

5 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

6 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

7 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。

8 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。