VOA标准英语2010年-Obama, Haitian President Discuss Earth

Haiti's President Rene Preval has discussed his country's earthquake recovery and economic needs with President Barack Obama in a meeting at the White House.  It was President Obama's first meeting with the Haitian leader.

Nearly two months after a massive earthquake devastated¹ Haiti, President Preval used his visit to Washington to outline what he would like to see the United States and the world provide for recovery and reconstruction².

At a White House Rose Garden event with President Barack Obama, the Haitian leader said at the top of his list is protection of the homeless and preparations for the rainy season.

President Preval thanked Americans for the flood of official and private aid, and moral support in a time of crisis.

"I would like to thank the American people, to thank Congress, to thank the administration and you in particular Mr. President, as well as your wife - not only for the material aid - but also for the moral support, the psychological support that helped us realize that we were not alone and that provided us great comfort in our distress," he said.

President Obama said the United States has been proud to play a leading role in relief efforts, and intends to remain a partner, even as the U.S. military hands off key functions to Haitian and international partners.

"America's commitment to Haiti's recovery and reconstruction must endure and will endure," said President Obama.  "This pledge is one that I made at the beginning of this crisis and I intend for America to keep this pledge."

President Obama recognized the numerous non-government organizations involved in Haiti relief, along with the U.S. military and various U.S. government agencies.

Both leaders stepped into the audience to shake hands with workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Army, and others involved in relief.

Members of Congress concerned about Haiti also attended the event, and President Preval journeyed to Capitol Hill to meet Democratic and Republican leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate.

Congress will be receiving an Obama administration request for more than $1 billion in additional aid, before an international donors³ conference the United States will host later this month at the United Nations.

The House of Representatives is considering a measure urging U.S. support for cancellation⁴ of all debts Haiti owes to the International Monetary⁵ Fund (IMF) and other international financial institutions.

In his remarks, President Preval also referred again to the need for "decentralization", an effort to undertake reconstruction and economic development in a way that will not concentrate populations in major urban areas.

"Namely, offering health care, education, jobs to all Haitians men and women regardless of where they live in the country in order to prevent migratory⁶ flows toward the big cities, toward Port au Prince, and that will help avoid that disasters such as the earthquake will cause so many victims [in the future]," added Preval.

In their White House meeting, President Obama said he and President Preval discussed that the situation in Haiti remains⁷ dire⁸, adding that no one should be under the illusion the crisis has ended.
 

1 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。

2 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

3 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

5 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

6 migratory   

n.候鸟，迁移

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• This does not negate the idea of migratory aptitude.这并没有否定迁移能力这一概念。

7 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。

8 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。