密歇根新闻广播 弗林特居民拒绝为"恶心的"水源买单

People in Flint who have been getting the state to help pay their water bills appear to be losing that help.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver¹ met with Governor Snyder on Tuesday. She was unable to get him to budge² from the decision to put an early end to the state-funded subsidy³ program that helped people pay for the water they can't safely drink without a filter.

The state announced an early end to the subsidies⁴ on Feb. 28, right after the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced lead levels in Flint's tap water had fallen below the federal limit.

Flint resident Laura MacIntyre joined Stateside to tell her first-hand story of what life is like in Flint.

She spoke⁵ with Stateside at the beginning of 2016 when many people in the city were refusing to pay their water bills.

During that last interview, MacIntyre was one of those who continued to pay her water bill. But since, that's changed.

"Things just weren't moving," MacIntyre said. "Nothing was getting done. We were being lied to again, the water was getting worse and none of the pipes were being replaced. And we were just being given filters as a solution to the problem without any change in the actual infrastructure⁶."

MacIntyre said the water in her home is so bad that she continues to use bottled water. She refuses to use filters because they only remove some of the contaminants.

"It's terrible," she said. "The water is still disgusting. It smells bad, it's inconsistent. I'm really afraid of it, the kids are afraid of it. Our washing machine broke, our dishwasher broke … anything that had water go through it just ended up dying. There's water streaming down our walls, all the pipes are falling apart. The toilets are falling apart. The sinks …we're really concerned. You said that we can't safely drink the water, but we're concerned that we can't safely bathe in the water."

State officials and the EPA have said that lead levels are currently below the federal action level, but MacIntyre said when she hears that, she becomes angry. She thinks officials have failed to do systematic⁷ testing for all of Flint's homes. She wants more testing done and doesn't trust the testing results from the EPA or the state.

Listen to the full interview above to learn what it would take for MacIntyre to start paying her water bills again and more.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 budge   

v.移动一点儿；改变立场

参考例句：

• We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来，但它连动都没动一下。
• She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。

3 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

4 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。