美国国家公共电台 NPR--Pakistanis save their town from floodwaters by building an embankment

Pakistanis save their town from floodwaters by building an embankment

Transcript¹

As unprecedented² rains lashed⁴ Pakistan, residents built their own embankments to save a large town, took over public schools for shelter and set up a boat highway for transport.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Floodwaters have been slow to recede³ in Pakistan. Its foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, told NPR his ancestral home is in the flood zone.

BILAWAL BHUTTO ZARDARI: We had a hundred-kilometer lake from the middle of my country that can be seen from space.

INSKEEP: Much of that lake is still there, and NPR's Diaa Hadid went out on the water.

(SOUNDBITE OF BOAT ENGINE TURNING OVER)

DIAA HADID, BYLINE⁵: Twenty-two-year-old Ikhtiar Sayyal crams⁶ his thin form into the hull⁷ of a boat that putt-putts across a lake. Just a month ago, this lake didn't exist. Now it's 70 miles wide, and a boat is the only way Sayyal can get around. The boat passes power lines that mark where the highway once ran, clusters of treetops where there were once fields. The boat skirts around submerged villages. Some have mosque⁸ domes⁹ poking¹⁰ out of the water. Hilly parts of Sayyal's village survived. It's called Gozo. It's now an island.

IKHTIAR SAYYAL: (Through interpreter) Only poor people are left in Gozo. Anybody with money left already.

HADID: Our boat parks at a muddy patch near a half-washed-away home.

Everyone's getting off here?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Yeah.

HADID: We follow Sayyal through ankle-deep water. We pass men on motorbikes navigating¹¹ alleys¹² slick with stinking¹³ sludge. We pass cows and buffaloes¹⁴ tethered in a dry courtyard.

SAYYAL: (Non-English language spoken).

HADID: Sayyal says they belong to people whose homes were washed away. He says they're taking care of them until they can return. Displaced livestock¹⁵ and displaced people. Sayyal points to a girls school where families are sheltering on the flat rooftop. Folks wave us up.

(Non-English language spoken).

The ground floor is underwater, so we climb the ladder fixed¹⁶ to the side of the building. A woman quickly sweeps the rooftop when she realizes guests are coming. It's over a hundred degrees. And one man, Mohammad Akram, invites us to sit near a fan powered by a solar panel. He rescued both from his home before floods submerged his village. It once neighbored Gozo. He tells my colleague, Abdul Sattar, that this was the closest place they could shelter.

MOHAMMAD AKRAM: (Through interpreter) But, brother, we have got nothing. He borrow cash from relatives and friends.

HADID: It's the equivalent of a dollar here, a dollar there. It doesn't stretch very far. Akram has got six kids.

AKRAM: (Through interpreter) We ate a little today, but our stomachs aren't even half full. I had some bread. My neighbor gave me a cup of yogurt.

HADID: People who've been made homeless from the floods are so scattered¹⁷ that an official tells us it's difficult to reach small groups of them, particularly those on these little island villages in the lake. Officials want them to go to large tent encampments, but some families fear it's not safe for their women and girls. We say goodbye and climb back down the ladder. As we're leaving, we hear about residents who saved their own town from floodwaters by building their own embankment. The town's called Johi. It's also in the same large lake, so we flagged down a boat in the jetty. We arrive in Johi and meet activist¹⁸ Allahvariyo Somro. Somro says weeks into monsoon¹⁹ season, they saw government warnings on social media that floods were coming. They snapped into action.

ALLAHVARIYO SOMRO: We used social media. We used bike. We used rickshaw.

HADID: They told clerics to use mosque loudspeakers to amplify²⁰ their call. Somro repeats what they said.

SOMRO: (Non-English language spoken).

HADID: My colleague Abdul Sattar translates.

SOMRO: (Through interpreter) You are informed that your city at risk, and there could be flood. So this is not the time for sitting. This is not the time for resting.

HADID: Somro says residents knew what to do because 12 years ago the area had also faced devastating²¹ floods, and they built a similar embankment to save their town. But it had since fallen into disrepair. This time around, farmers bought tractors to shift soil. Elderly men and young boys helped with sandbagging. Women broke with conservative tradition and worked alongside the men. Another activist, Javeid Rajhani, explains.

JAVEID RAJHANI: Everybody in the embankment - everybody, I tell you - from child to old men, will not give up our efforts to protect our city.

HADID: Local officials were among the residents who had fled Johi by then. But in phone calls, they authorized²² residents to use government machinery²³ like big earthmovers. Within days, townsfolk had rebuilt the 4-1/2-mile embankment, and they became folk heroes of the district. When they finished, the men held a party, dancing in traditional glittery caps and tossing rose petals²⁴.

(SOUNDBITE OF DRUMMING)

HADID: And when the heavy rains turned to floods, the embankment protected Johi, which is now encircled by water. Rajhani again.

RAJHANI: We are in high spirits. And inshallah, God forbid, if the situation comes like this, we will protect our city again.

HADID: But the joy and pride conceals²⁵ anger.

RAJHANI: There was a mismanagement, we can say, of the government.

HADID: Rajhani says the government didn't make rains more intense. He says that's climate change. But he and others maintain that the effects of these floods, which washed away so many homes and livelihoods²⁶ and even created a lake, was made worse because officials didn't maintain systems that would have diverted the water. We head back to the jetty and flag down another boat to return to what is now the mainland. These boats are basically a bus service set up by fishermen. There's no other way for residents on these isolated²⁷ patches in the lake to get around. But it's expensive by local standards, about $1.30 a ride. And as we disembark at a noisy jetty, one furious commuter²⁸ marches up to us. Gul Ahsan Nourani says the military should be providing free transport.

GUL AHSAN NOURANI: (Through interpreter) We want the army to provide us at least free ferry service so that we could travel. We don't have anything.

HADID: Pakistani officials say these floods were so catastrophic that they were overwhelmed. They say even much wealthier countries wouldn't have been able to cope. Pakistan's government is asking the West for more debt relief and aid so they can deal with this sprawling²⁹ crisis because scientists say climate change likely made these rains more intense, and Pakistan is only a minuscule³⁰ global carbon emitter. Back on the boat to Gozo, the fishermen cut the motor briefly³¹ to fish out some weeds caught in the propeller³². And that young man, Ikhtiar Sayyal, tells me, in Pakistan, people like him are always left behind. There's nothing for the poor here, he says. We had to save ourselves.

Diaa Hadid, NPR News, Gozo.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 recede   

vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进

参考例句：

• The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
• He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

4 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 crams   

v.塞入( cram的第三人称单数 )；填塞；塞满；（为考试而）死记硬背功课

参考例句：

• Have you seen the way he crams food down his throat? 你见过他那狼吞虎咽的样子吗？ 来自互联网
• He crams his ducks with cornmeal every day. 他每天用玉米面填饱他的鸭子。 来自互联网

7 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

8 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

9 domes   

n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场

参考例句：

• The domes are circular or ovoid in cross-section. 穹丘的横断面为圆形或卵圆形。 来自辞典例句
• Parks. The facilities highlighted in text include sport complexes and fabric domes. 本书重点讲的设施包括运动场所和顶棚式结构。 来自互联网

10 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

11 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

12 alleys   

胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径

参考例句：

• I followed him through a maze of narrow alleys. 我紧随他穿过一条条迂迴曲折的窄巷。
• The children lead me through the maze of alleys to the edge of the city. 孩子们领我穿过迷宫一般的街巷，来到城边。

13 stinking   

adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透

参考例句：

• I was pushed into a filthy, stinking room. 我被推进一间又脏又臭的屋子里。
• Those lousy, stinking ships. It was them that destroyed us. 是的！就是那些该死的蠢猪似的臭飞船！是它们毁了我们。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

14 buffaloes   

n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓

参考例句：

• Some medieval towns raced donkeys or buffaloes. 有些中世纪的城市用驴子或水牛竞赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Water buffaloes supply Egypt with more meat than any other domestic animal. 水牛提供给埃及的肉比任何其它动物都要多。 来自辞典例句

15 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

16 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

17 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

18 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

19 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

20 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。

21 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。

22 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

23 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

24 petals   

n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
• The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

25 conceals   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He conceals his worries behind a mask of nonchalance. 他装作若无其事，借以掩饰内心的不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Drunkenness reveals what soberness conceals. 酒醉吐真言。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

27 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

28 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

29 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

30 minuscule   

adj.非常小的；极不重要的

参考例句：

• The human race only a minuscule portion of the earth's history.人类只有占有极小部分地球历史。
• As things stand,Hong Kong's renminbi banking system is minuscule.就目前的情况而言，香港的人民币银行体系可谓微不足道。

31 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

32 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。