美国国家公共电台 NPR--Angry Ohio residents confront railroad over health fears during town forum

Angry Ohio residents confront railroad over health fears during town forum¹

Transcript²

Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, who say they're still suffering from illnesses nearly a month after a train carrying toxic³ chemicals derailed, confronted the railroad's operator on Thursday.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

People living near a derailed freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, turned up for a town hall meeting last night. Unlike some other meetings, representatives of the railroad showed up; so did federal regulators and Julie Grant of the environmental radio show "Allegheny Front."

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: It's everywhere.

JULIE GRANT: This was the first time Norfolk Southern faced the people of East Palestine directly, and the company's Darrell Wilson stood on the high school auditorium⁴ stage as one person after another explained how the contamination has harmed them. Some told stories of houses covered in black soot⁵. Others spoke⁶ of children vomiting⁷ and constant headaches. One man said he'd lost his job and was afraid to plant a garden, while another said he couldn't get financing to buy a new house. To all of this, Wilson apologized. He said the company is very sorry and feels horrible about it. But that just wasn't enough for the crowd of angry and devastated⁸ people who don't feel it's safe to go home but can't afford to move. At the raucous⁹ meeting, people shouted over Wilson, imploring¹⁰ Norfolk Southern to pay for them to move elsewhere.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: If you care about us, get our grandkids out of here now. Get my children out. Do you care?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Get us out.

GRANT: The company and regulators spoke of their efforts to continue monitoring the air, test the drinking water, clean the streams and remove waste from the derailment site. There's been a call to test for dioxins, cancer-causing chemicals that can be created in combustion¹¹, like the chemical explosion whose plume¹² darken the sky for miles around. The EPA had declined to test for it until shortly before this meeting, when the agency announced it would require Norfolk Southern to test for dioxins. Kristin Battaglia (ph) works in supply chain management and takes care of her grandmother, the former mayor of East Palestine. She says this area has been in recovery from the loss of its steel economy decades ago and more recently from the opioid crisis.

KRISTIN BATTAGLIA: We were reversing that. It just breaks my heart, all the hard work that these good-hearted people have done to try to regain¹³ our economy, and this has just - it's just shattered it.

GRANT: For NPR News, I'm Julie Grant in East Palestine, Ohio.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 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。

3 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

4 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

5 soot   

n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟

参考例句：

• Soot is the product of the imperfect combustion of fuel.煤烟是燃料不完全燃烧的产物。
• The chimney was choked with soot.烟囱被煤灰堵塞了。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 vomiting   

吐

参考例句：

• Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. 症状有腹泻和呕吐。
• Especially when I feel seasick, I can't stand watching someone else vomiting." 尤其晕船的时候，看不得人家呕。”

8 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。

9 raucous   

adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的

参考例句：

• I heard sounds of raucous laughter upstairs.我听见楼上传来沙哑的笑声。
• They heard a bottle being smashed,then more raucous laughter.他们听见酒瓶摔碎的声音，然后是一阵更喧闹的笑声。

10 imploring   

恳求的，哀求的

参考例句：

• Those calm, strange eyes could see her imploring face. 那平静的，没有表情的眼睛还能看得到她的乞怜求情的面容。
• She gave him an imploring look. 她以哀求的眼神看着他。

11 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

12 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

13 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。