Sichuan post-quake reconstruction completed successfully

 　　BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The reconstruction¹ of parts of southwest China's Sichuan province, which was hit by a devastating² earthquake in 2008, has been completed, the vice³ governor of Sichuan province announced Friday.

　　Wei Hong, also the director of the provincial⁴ post-quake reconstruction committee office, made the remarks at a press conference on reconstruction achievements ahead of China's annual parliamentary sessions.

　　Wei said that 99.5 percent of the budget, or 865.8 billion yuan (137.5 billion U.S. dollars), has been invested in post-quake reconstruction efforts, and 99 percent of 29,692 related projects have been completed.

　　A devastating quake hit Sichuan and neighboring Gansu and Shaanxi provinces in May 2008, leaving more than 80,000 people dead or missing and millions of houses destroyed.

　　"The few unfinished projects are those that were affected⁵ by after-shocks and secondary disasters, which need long-term construction and huge quantities of work," Wei said. "We are making efforts to promote the remaining projects."

　　Local governments have successfully helped more than 12 million people in rural and urban areas repair their houses, and have relocated 200,000 farmers who lost their farmlands, the vice governor added.

　　According to official statistics, in 2011, the total output value of the six hardest-hit cities and prefectures was almost double that of the pre-quake period, with urban per capita disposable income growing by 1.7 times and farmers' net income by 1.75 times.

　　Moreover, Sichuan province doubled its economy from 2007 to 2011, and its total economy hit 2 trillion yuan in 2011.

　　The province also imported 173 of the world's top 500 enterprises, attracting foreign investment of 11 billion U.S. dollars, and the total volume of imports and exports grew by 54.8 percent in 2011.

　　"We are determined⁷ to further build the quake-hit areas into a prosperous and harmonious⁸ land, hoping for more attention and support," he added.

　　Safeguarding the well-being⁹ and bettering the lives of the people in the quake-hit areas has been the top priority on the agenda of relevant local governments, said Wei.

　　Through efforts made in the past three years, new settlements and a large number of hospitals, schools and cultural facilities have been built for people there, Wei said.

　　Wei noted¹⁰ that, by the end of 2011, the per capita income of urban residents and rural residents living in the 102 hardest-hit counties reached 17,000 yuan and 6,674 yuan, respectively, showing respective increases of 8,500 yuan and 3,500 yuan.

　　"Therefore, we can say for sure that the living standards of the people in the quake-hit areas have been raised to a level higher than that prior to the catastrophe," said the vice governor.

　　To safeguard the security of the massive reconstruction funds, Wei said a special account management system was established to keep a close eye on the circulation of the funds.

　　Since 2009, audit¹¹ and supervision¹² departments have organized 8,898 auditing¹³ groups and 65 supervision teams to track the entire process of the flow of the funds, said Wei.

　　The use of social donations from across the nation and overseas, which totaled 20.1 billion yuan, has also been published on the provincial government's website since 2010, Wei said.

　　Wei also expressed his gratitude¹⁴ to compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, thanking them for their great contributions to quake relief efforts and post-quake reconstruction.

　　The reconstruction goal has been achieved successfully, but we should be fully⁶ aware that the task of maintaining the continuous development of the quake-hit areas remains¹⁵ pressing due to a lack of internal impetus¹⁶ and decreasing jobs as many large-scale reconstruction projects draw to a close, said Wei.

　　To tackle this problem, Wei said a five-year development plan has been hammered out to invigorate the affected areas by expanding employment, developing competitive industries and bringing in more talents.

　　In regards to wide concerns that the hardest-hit town of Yingxiu and other quake-hit areas are applying to be listed as national scenic¹⁷ spots in order to exploit tourism resources, Wei said that Yingxiu and another three majorly affected areas have been included by the State Council as four memorial sites for earthquake relics¹⁸.

　　Based on the construction of memorial sites, we will turn some parts into delicate tourist spots for people to mourn the dead and carry forward the dauntless quake prevention and quake-relief spirit, Wei said, adding that tourism revenue in Sichuan province hit a record 240 billion yuan last year.

　　Wei said the provincial government has urged local governments to take note of media suggestions and solicit¹⁹ opinions from local people.

　　"The residents there have the final say. After all, it's they who will live there for a lifetime," said Wei.

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 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

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。

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 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。

8 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。

9 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

10 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。

11 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

12 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

13 auditing   

n.审计，查账，决算

参考例句：

• Auditing standards are the rules governing how an audit is performed.收支检查标准是规则统治一个稽核如何被运行。
• The auditing services market is dominated by a few large accounting firms.审计服务市场被几家大型会计公司独占了。

14 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

15 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。

16 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。

17 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。

18 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

19 solicit   

vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意)

参考例句：

• Beggars are not allowed to solicit in public places.乞丐不得在公共场所乞讨。
• We should often solicit opinions from the masses.我们应该经常征求群众意见。