NPR 2008-08-31

The exodus¹ from the Gulf² Coast has begun as Hurricane Gustav takes aim on the region. Tens of thousands of people have been leaving today. If the storm stays on its current path, a mandatory³ evacuation will be ordered for the entire city of New Orleans in the morning. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour says all lanes of two major interstate highways will be rerouted to handle people leaving Louisiana. Gustav is expected to strengthen further by tomorrow to a Category-5 storm with winds of 160 miles an hour or more. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal says his state is in a projected bull's eye. "This could be as bad as it gets, based on the water temperature, based on the hurricane storm track. Obviously things can still change, but our people need to take the storm extremely seriously, not just because of the winds, but also because of the tidal surge." Jindal is assigning hundreds of National Guard troops to help patrol the streets of New Orleans after the expected evacuation.

Business has been brisk today at stores in the region as people buy supplies to secure their homes. Jevons Salastin works at a Home Depot⁴ in Houma, Louisiana. “People all get their money out of the bank, get everything set aside to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.” Some of the people leaving New Orleans have been evacuated⁵ by train to Memphis, Cantus Ledlow from member station WKNO reports.

More than 3500 New Orleans’ evacuees⁶ are expected to arrive in Memphis tonight by train. AMTRAK has suspended its regular passenger service so that the train called "City of New Orleans" could be used to transport people who would not otherwise have transportation. Three years ago, mass transportation was not used when Katrina hit, leaving many trapped in the city. Emergency officials and the Red Cross have set up ten shelters in Memphis for nearly 2000 of those coming in tonight. The remainder will take shelter in community centers east of Memphis. For NPR News, I'm Cantus Ledlow in Memphis.

Hurricane Gustav is currently pummeling Cuba's western tip. The storm has maximum winds of 150 miles an hour. It's expected to slam into the Gulf Coast late Monday or early Tuesday.

Democratic presidential nominee⁷ Barack Obama is campaigning in Ohio today and other swing states this weekend. NPR's Don Gonyea has more from the campaign trail.

Senator Obama is campaigning with his running mate Joe Biden in Ohio today. The Obama campaign has been focusing on key battleground states in these days immediately following the wrap-up of the Democratic Convention. The Obama campaign has also released a new TV ad, reacting to Senator McCain's pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. They are not talking so much about Palin in that ad. They are talking about John McCain and saying while he has portrayed⁸ his pick as another example of the kind of change he would bring the Washington, they say that, that really John McCain represents more of the same. Don Gonyea NPR News, traveling in Ohio with the Obama campaign.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown says Russia must not be allowed to subject Europe to what he called an energy stranglehold. In a Sunday article in a London newspaper, Brown says he has told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to expect a determined⁹ response when European Union leaders meet Monday to discuss the situation in the former Soviet¹⁰ Republic of Georgia. Brown added that it may be necessary to re-evaluate NATO's relationship with Russia and Russia's participation¹¹ in the Group of Eight Major Industrialized Nations.

The UN Refugee Agency has registered some 2300 people from villages in Georgia in the buffer¹² zone between the town of Gori and the breakaway South Ossetia region. Lisa Schlein has that story from Geneva.

The UN Refugee Agency says the internally displaced include about 800 elderly people who were forced to flee their homes by marauding militia¹³, some reportedly from South Ossetia. Spokeswoman Helene Caux says they are staying in a tent camp near Gori. "The newly displaced in Gori all have stories of intimidation¹⁴ including beatings by the militia in buffer zone villages north of Gori." Coe says some of these elderly Georgians have fled their homes a second time because they felt unsafe when they returned to their villages. They report their houses were damaged and looted, their cattle slaughtered¹⁵. For NPR News, I'm Lisa Schlein in Geneva.

In India, emergency workers have been hampered¹⁶ by heavy rain and damaged roads as they tried to get relief supplies to millions of villagers displaced by widespread flooding. The waters have spread over more than 200,000 acres of farmland in that country. Despite a marathon rescue effort, thousands of people remain stranded¹⁷.

1 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

4 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

5 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

6 evacuees   

n.被疏散者( evacuee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Moreover, for multi-exits, evacuees select a exit based on game theory. 在有多个出口时，疏散人员根据对策论选择出口。 来自互联网
• Evacuees wade through flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar on Saturday, July 31, 2010. 撤离灾区涉水通过后在白沙瓦沉重的季风降雨在周六，2010年7月31日。 来自互联网

7 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

8 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 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。

10 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

11 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

12 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

13 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

14 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

15 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

17 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。