VOA标准英语2014--Search for the Missing Continues in Tacloban, Philippines 菲律宾仍在塔克洛班市搜寻失踪者

 

Search for the Missing Continues in Tacloban, Philippines 菲律宾仍在塔克洛班市搜寻失踪者

TACLOBAN — Four months after Typhoon Haiyan devastated¹ parts of the Philippines, the search for the missing continues.  Thousands of bodies have yet to be found or identified and some say the process has taken too long. 

Corazon Go’s house was destroyed when Typhoon Haiyan flooded her bayside village.  

But the 56-year-old lost much more than just her home. “It was the last time I saw my daughters.  They could not swim in that water,” she explained. 

The body of one daughter, Ellen, 33, was recovered.  But her other child, Eden, 37, has not been found.

At least 2,600 bodies have been recovered in the city of Tacloban since November’s typhoon.  

Specially-trained search dogs have been flown into Tacloban from the United States to help with the recovery effort.

Dog handler Jim Houck is with the group Global Disaster Immediate² Response Team, (Global D.I.R.T.). 

“The terrain³ we are searching is very difficult, very tight mangroves," he said. "When we do find remains⁴, we mark it and have locals come in to remove the remains.  Our hope is we go out and we don’t find any remains. Unfortunately, we do, we do find remains”

Finding the remains of the missing is one challenge for Tacloban.  Another is identifying the thousands of corpses⁵ that were buried in mass graves after the typhoon.

Doctors are now examining these bodies and conducting DNA⁶ tests in hopes of bringing closure to those still searching for lost family.  But some say they do not have enough support from the local government to get the job done.

Bernardita Valenzuela, spokeswoman for Tacloban’s mayor, said the local government is doing the best that it can, but in Typhoon Haiyan’s wake, it is broke.

“The destruction is so massive and widespread. It’s not really enough," she said.  "Even though there is well meaning people and organizations who come from abroad, it is not enough.  Our resources our very limited.”  

As for Corazon Go and her neighbors, they are rebuilding and trying to get back to their normal lives. But for her, that also means letting go of everything and everyone she lost to the typhoon.

 

“After more than three months, we have lost hope in ever seeing the body of our daughter again,” she sadly added.

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 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

4 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。

5 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

6 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。