美国国家公共电台 NPR--The homeless in Montana suffered through some very cold temperatures this week

The homeless in Montana suffered through some very cold temperatures this week

Transcript¹

Montana is a tough place to be homeless. The state's annual ceremony memorializing homeless people who've died, happened to fall on one of the coldest nights of the year.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Some of the country's coldest temperatures this week have been in Montana. We're talking close to 50 degrees below zero with biting winds that made it feel even colder. It's a dangerous place to be homeless, as Austin Amestoy with Montana Public Radio reports.

AUSTIN AMESTOY, BYLINE²: One of the state's biggest homeless shelters is the Poverello Center in Missoula, where Jill Bonny is in charge.

JILL BONNY: It seems strange to say I hope that we are at capacity, but if that's how many people need shelter, then I - yes, I hope we're at capacity.

AMESTOY: Bonny says 28 people died while homeless in Missoula this year. That's a few more than in previous years. They're proud that none of the deaths were cold-related.

(SOUNDBITE OF FRENCH HORN)

AMESTOY: The annual ceremony memorializing deaths of people without housing in the capital city, Helena, is usually held outdoors. This year, it was moved inside the state Capitol rotunda³ as the temperature plunged⁴ to 29 degrees below zero. Helena's symphony orchestra played a Jewish musical meditation⁵ for mourning. Jenifer Gursky with YWCA Helena led the ceremony.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JENIFER GURSKY: Tonight, as we gather in our people's house, there are some of our neighbors struggling to simply keep their fingers and toes warm, struggling to know where their next gallon of gas is coming from and wondering if they fall asleep under their blankets, if they will wake up.

AMESTOY: Organizations in many Montana cities and towns have opened special shelters or warming centers this week to try to save people's lives. Some are offering hotel vouchers⁶ and discouraging people from sleeping in their cars. The organization that runs Bozeman's largest warming shelter is scrambling⁷ to stay open 24 hours a day during this cold snap.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: You know, we are doing what it takes right now to shift funding to be able to do this. But as we all know, our winters here are long.

AMESTOY: For NPR News, I'm Austin Amestoy in Missoula, Mont.

(SOUNDBITE OF CLOUDKICKER'S "CRAWL SPACES")

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 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。

3 rotunda   

n.圆形建筑物；圆厅

参考例句：

• The Capitol at Washington has a large rotunda.华盛顿的国会大厦有一圆形大厅。
• The rotunda was almost deserted today,dotted with just a few tourists.圆形大厅今天几乎没有多少人，只零星散布着几个游客。

4 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

5 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

6 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

7 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》