VOA标准英语2013--飓风桑迪一年后

 

Hurricane Sandy’s Impact: Still Reeling After One Year 飓风桑迪一年后

NEW YORK — It’s been one year since Hurricane Sandy struck the New York metropolitan¹ area. Reconstruction² is ongoing³, but for many life is still very fragile.

纽约——遭受飓风桑迪袭击一年后的纽约大都会区。重建正在进行,但对于许多生活仍然很脆弱。

Patricia Dresch is a woman of faith. Her church loaned her one of their parish houses to live in this past year. Friends and neighbors provided food and clothing.

Dresch barely survived Hurricane Sandy by hanging on to telephone wires. Her husband, George, and younger daughter, 13-year-old Angela, were swept away.  

“I didn’t think it would be her last birthday,” she said.

All three had been trapped in an upstairs bathroom, with Dresch trying to hold on to Angela as the waves ripped her home apart.

“And then, all of a sudden the wall gave out and we got pushed out into yard and water was up to my chin when we got thrown out. As we went out part of the roof came down. And hit us on the head. I went up with my arms and that’s when I lost my daughter. She came off my arm and I couldn’t grab her. She went under. And I knew she was gone at that point.”

Dresch’s other daughter, Jo Ann Moyer, came to Staten Island to be with her mother during this Sandy anniversary.

“And the kitchen was back here and we had two decks,” said Jo Ann. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, but has very fond recollections of her former home.

“I wish they can turn this into a memorial. I hope no one ever lives on this piece of land. To me, it’s holy ground. It’s sacred. I loved it down here. Just [to] have the window open and hear the waves crash. It was very calm and peaceful,” she said.

The City of New York, with its new Buy-Back Program, paid Patricia the full price for her destroyed home, and she is ready to move into a new one. But, it’s bittersweet.

“I think of my family every day. And, it’s so strange that at the anniversary the money came forth⁴ and I was able to buy my house all at the same time, and it was like saying to me: 'now you can move on to your next part of your life, a new chapter of your life.' I have to live all over again. You know I haven’t begun to live yet. I have been grieving for my family since day one. Crying every day. I yell, I cry, I scream. It’s hard," she said.

Hurricane Sandy resulted in 97 deaths within 105 kilometers of New York City. Twenty-four states were affected⁵, with damage estimated at $65 billion. 

1 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

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 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。