VOA标准英语2011--Haiti Rebuilds Slowly Under New Government, Prime Minister

 Haiti Rebuilds Slowly Under New Government, Prime Minister

Nearly two years after a 7.0 earthquake hit its capital city, Port-au-Prince, Haiti is rebuilding. Slowly. Forty percent of the international aid money that poured into the island has still not been distributed because of the disorganization within the government that followed the quake. Now, a government under musician-turned-President Michel Martelly and newly-confirmed Prime Minister Garry Conille is grappling with the task.

Haiti's president lives in the elite¹ suburb of Peguyville, where some walls are painted in the pink and white colors of his campaign. The wealthy neighborhood shares its sidewalks with the poor, left homeless after the 2010 earthquake.

Just down the road is Port-au-Prince. The quake's impact - evident here too. The rubble². The foundations. The open drains. Nearly everything waits for repair.

The Haitian Presidential Palace shows just how much rebuilding needs to be done. It looks the same as it did nearly two years ago. And, directly across from the Palace is a tent city.

After the earthquake, more than a million Haitians moved to public parks, set up a tarp and called it home. Six hundred thousand still live in these tent cities. Why? It's a question for Haiti's President.

“How do you lure³ businesses here when the first thing they see when they come out of the airport is a tent city, the first thing they see at the presidential palace is a tent city?” VOA asks.

“That’s not all that Haiti’s about," notes Martelly. "Once you leave Port-au-Prince, you see a lot of things. You see beauty, you see wealth, you see a rich country with humongous possibilities.”

To show off those possibilities, President Martelly flew some builders north of Port-au-Prince - to find land for 3,000 new houses. But it's been a slow process since the quake shattered Haiti's infrastructure⁴ and destroyed 17 of 18 government ministries⁵.

"But up until now 21 months after the earthquake we find the people's living situation has not changed at all," noted⁶ Ghemps Desauguste who is with a group demanding land and houses now.

The Martelly administration says it takes time.

“We are trying to identify homes first for these people, so they walk out of a tent and go into a home,” Martelly explained.

There are new, pre-fabricated houses for sale in Haiti. But even at a price of only $5,000, builder Jean Mark Louishomme says tent city residents cannot afford them.

"They can't, they can't," he emphasized. "But the NGOs or government can buy this and build them for them."

That's not the government's plan, though. President Martelly invited VOA to join his presidential motorcade into the central plateau of the country, where the government will build affordable⁷ housing. He says it's a major step toward Haitian independence, and away from foreign loans.

"We will change this country. I’m determined⁸. The people of Haiti want a better life,” Martelly said.

The president admits there is much to be done. It’s a country where in 35 seconds, in a 30 square kilometer area - 300,000 people died.

1 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

2 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。

3 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

4 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。

5 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。