VOA标准英语2008年-Louisiana Prepares for Possible Hurricane in Co

Hurricane Gustav, which killed at least 22 people in Haiti, is now headed south of Cuba, but forecasters believe the storm will move north into the Gulf¹ of Mexico by early next week and threaten a coastal² area that stretches from Texas to the Florida panhandle. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Houston, the projected path of the storm puts New Orleans in the bulls eye and people in Louisiana are watching it with concern.

On Friday, Louisiana will observe the third anniversary of one of the state's greatest tragedies, Hurricane Katrina. That devastating³ hurricane, which caused massive flooding in New Orleans, was followed a few weeks later by Hurricane Rita, which devastated⁴ the western coast of the state and areas of east Texas.

Even though it is far too early to say where Gustav may make landfall, state officials are taking every precaution and trying to prepare the population for the worst.

"Especially since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we take every storm seriously," said Veronica Mosgrove of the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Office. "This one does seem that it is going to be a threat and so we are in constant communication with our local, state and federal partners and have our plan in place to roll out whatever we need to roll out at whatever time we need to do so."

One of the key points in the Louisiana emergency plan is an evacuation schedule that relies on hundreds of buses, trains and airplanes, in addition to the private vehicles that can be used to move people out of the threatened zone. Mosgrove says assets are in place and state officials will begin implementing⁵ the evacuation using a detailed⁶ plan.

"Fifty hours from when it is projected that there will be tropical storm or hurricane-force winds felt in the area, that is when we determine when to call for the evacuation," she said.

She says communities along the coast that are in the path of the storm will be evacuated⁷ first, then with 40 hours remaining before landfall, New Orleans and areas farther inland will be evacuated. At 30 hours, the next tier of populated areas will be evacuated.

Veronica Mosgrove says more about the possible trajectory⁸ of the storm should be known by this weekend, which includes the Monday Labor⁹ Day holiday. She says it is important that residents in southern Louisiana stay informed about the storm's progress.

"This is a holiday weekend so we are asking people to pay attention to weather forecasts and news so that they can be ready in the event that there is an evacuation called for," she said.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin cut short his attendance at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in order to return home and work on storm preparations. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a Republican, is scheduled to appear at his party's convention in St. Paul, Minnesota next week, but his office says he will not make a final decision on his plans until later this week when more information about the hurricane threat is available.

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 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

5 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

6 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

7 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

8 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。