访谈录 2010-01-21&2010-01-23 美国，海地孤儿的新家？

We're back and of all the tragic¹ stories coming out of Haiti, one of the most wrenching² is the thousands of children who were orphaned³ in an instant when that earthquake hit. We've been reporting on efforts by Americans to adopt some of them. Now our own Mark Potter reports on an idea that has worked before and somehow could work here again.

At the House of God’s Children Orphanage⁴ in Port-au-Prince, staffers are struggling to help more than 100 children. In dire⁵ conditions, many children must now live outdoors after the earthquake, awaiting the slow adoption⁶ process into the US and other countries.

"There is no future for the children there. If they're orphans⁷, there is no family; there is no one to care for them."

To speed up the care of Haitian orphans, whose numbers have swelled⁸ into hundreds of thousands now, the Catholic Archdiocese in Miami is proposing to temporarily house large groups of Haitian children in the US. It would be patterned after Operation Pedro Pan from the 1960s, when 14,000 children from Cuba were flown to the US to escape the revolution there. 

Operation Pedro Pan obviously was named after the fairy tale hero Peter Pan. Some say the plan to bring in children from Creole and French speaking Haiti should be called Operation Pierre Pan.

Miami mayor Tomas Regalado was a Pedro Pan child in 1962. He now fully⁹ supports a similar plan for Haitians as long as it's well coordinated¹⁰ with US and international relief agencies.

I think it would give hope to the people of Haiti to see some of their children to have a better life.

Although the plan still lacks US government’s approval, it is being considered.

"We feel their pain. As a church, we feel it's the moral and humane¹¹ thing to do. We must provide a future for these children."

And the church says it's been flooded with inquiries¹² from American families offering to open their doors and their hearts.

Mark Potter, NBC news, Miami.

 

1 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

2 wrenching   

n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• China has been through a wrenching series of changes and experiments. 中国经历了一系列艰苦的变革和试验。 来自辞典例句
• A cold gust swept across her exposed breast, wrenching her back to reality. 一股寒气打击她的敞开的胸膛，把她从梦幻的境地中带了回来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

3 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

4 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

5 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

6 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

7 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

8 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

9 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。

10 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

11 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

12 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》