VOA标准英语2011-One Year After Haiti Earthquake, Reconstr

One year after the earthquake in Haiti, reconstruction¹ is still in its infancy². No one expected the poorest country in the Western hemisphere to bounce back quickly from the quake that killed more than 200,000 people and left more than a million homeless.

But although hundreds of non-governmental organizations have been working on the ground to make life tolerable for the Haitian people, there is widespread frustration³ with the pace of progress.

A year after the earthquake destroyed much of Port-au-Prince, there are few visible signs of reconstruction.

Only five percent of the rubble⁴ has been removed from the city. An estimated 800,000 people are still living in tents. And according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, only 38 percent of the $1.4 billion in charitable contributions from U.S. donors⁵ has been spent. Many are asking why.

"When people ask me in one word, which is tough to answer, what is wrong with Haiti today, and why haven't we moved forward, the answer is leadership. We need leadership and we are really relying on the next [Haitian] administration to provide that," said Julie Schindall, the spokesperson for Oxfam International.

It's a common theme.

The Haitian government has been unable to fully⁶ respond. Thirteen of the 15 government ministry⁷ buildings collapsed⁸ in the quake. Thirty percent of the government's workforce⁹ was killed.

In addition, November's election results have not been announced, amid allegations of fraud.

Non-governmental organizations agree that the funds and know how for reconstruction are in Haiti. But they say there is no viable¹⁰ government to partner with.

"The money will only be released when there are realistic plans because we want the money to go to the right place. We don't want the money to disappear into a black hole. Everybody has an interest in results out of this," said Leonard Doyle, with the International Organization for Migration¹¹, an NGO working in Haiti.

Aid organizations say the initial phase of disaster relief, providing basic shelter, food and water, went well given the enormous destruction.

The second phase, getting people into temporary housing and starting permanent construction, has been problematic.

Matthew Cochrane with the International Red Cross, who has been working to build transitional homes in Port au Prince, says finding space to build in the city is not easy. Land records have been destroyed and obtaining clear title is often complicated.

But he is optimistic the coming year will be more productive. "I think a lot of the legal hurdles¹² are beginning to be overcome. I think in the next month you will see a significant increase in the rate of construction," he said.

There has also been criticism of the NGOs operating in the country.

Julie Schindall with Oxfam says donors would rather spend money on sexy projects like building a school or a hospital, rather than removing the mass of debris¹³ from the city.

"We need to think what is our added value here. What do we have to bring. And it has to be something that doesn't exist inside of the country. And it has to be something where we end up training Haitians and giving Haitians the skills to carry out those projects themselves," she said.

The NGOs agree that reconstruction will take years. They say now is the time to redouble their commitment and work toward moving the country forward.

1 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。

2 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

3 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

4 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

5 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》

6 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。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

9 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

10 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

11 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。

12 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

13 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。