VOA标准英语2008年-Recovery Begins After Hurricane Ike, Bush to Vi

Search teams are spreading out along the U.S. Gulf¹ Coast, looking for people stranded² after Hurricane Ike. Emergency officials in Texas say they have rescued about 2,000 people who ignored evacuation orders and were stranded by Hurricane Ike. They say thousands of others are in the same situation. VOA's Paula Wolfson report from the White House President George Bush will tour the region on Tuesday.
　
Dolores Gabriles, center, 71, is helped from a rescue boat by police captain Walter Braun, left, and officer Jeremy Smart after Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast, in Galveston, Texas, 13 Sep 2008

President Bush says he wants to get a first hand look at the damage.

"This is a tough storm and it is going to require time for people to recover," said President Bush.

Hurricane Ike came ashore³ early Saturday along the Texas Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rains. As it weakened and moved out, the search for the missing began, along with the slow task of assessing damage and restoring essential services.

President Bush says search and rescue is now the top priority. But he says action is also being taken to help the millions who remain without electricity.

"Interestingly enough, some electricity is already being restored to Houston, I am told," said Mr. Bush. "And I do want to thank the utility companies for working hard to get electricity up."

But it is likely to take some time before power is fully⁴ restored. And for now, the people of Houston - the fourth-largest city in the United States - are under an overnight curfew due to the outages.

Complicating⁵ matters is massive storm debris⁶ - including downed trees and shattered glass from broken windows. In the barrier island town of Galveston, homes and businesses were flooded out, and when the storm winds receded⁷, the local highway was covered with boats and other refuse left behind by the sea.

President Bush has been getting regular updates on conditions. After a briefing early Sunday, he warned local residents who evacuated⁸ to stay away until local officials say it is safe to return.

"It is very important for citizens, who I know are anxious to get home, to take your time and listen, take the advice of local folks," he said.

There is also concern about gas and oil refineries⁹ in the region slammed by Ike. They were spared the worst of the storm. But work was disrupted and some may remain closed for some time due to power outages.

As a result, gasoline prices in the United States are rising sharply. President Bush says it is too early to determine the extent of the damage the hurricane will have on gasoline production and distribution. But he makes clear price gouging¹⁰ will not be tolerated.

"The federal government, along with state governments, will be monitoring very carefully as to whether or nor consumers are being mistreated at the pump," said President Bush.

President Bush has already declared a federal disaster in large parts of Texas and neighboring Louisiana. The move clears the way for massive government assistance to flow into the region. Although it will take some time before the full extent of the damage is known, Ike is expected to be one of the costliest¹¹ storms ever to hit the United States.

 

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 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

3 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

6 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

7 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

8 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。

9 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

10 gouging   

n.刨削[槽]v.凿( gouge的现在分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• Banks and credit-card companies have been accused of gouging their customers. 银行和信用卡公司被指控欺诈顾客。 来自辞典例句
• If back-gouging is applied, grinding to bright metal is required. 如果采用火焰气刨，则应将其打磨至可见光亮的金属表面。 来自互联网

11 costliest   

adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失，是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
• Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰？克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网