VOA慢速英语2010年-This is America_ Reaching Out to the P

FRITZI BODENHEIMER:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Fritzi Bodenheimer.

MARIO RITTER:

And I'm Mario Ritter. The January twelfth earthquake in Haiti killed or injured hundreds of thousands of people. The quake also left hundreds of thousands homeless as it destroyed much of the capital, Port-au-Prince. This week on our program, we look at some of the efforts to assist Haiti and its people.

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FRITZI BODENHEIMER:

As international medical assistance has flowed into Haiti, some of the injured have been flown out for treatment.

Romel Joseph is a blind, fifty year old violinist with Haitian and American citizenship¹. He could have had a promising² career in the United States. Instead, he returned to Haiti and opened a school in nineteen ninety-one.

At the New Victorian School he has been teaching music to students from poor families. But the building collapsed³ in the quake. Romel Joseph suffered injuries to an arm and both legs. His pregnant wife died two floors below him. In the eighteen hours until his rescue, he says, he kept his mind on prayer and playing music in his head.

He and other survivors⁴ were flown to Florida for emergency treatment at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital. There he received a visit from a group of classically trained middle-school students.

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ANTOINE JOSEPH: "Having three surgeries last night -- one in my hand and one on each foot -- it's nice to be here. And it's nice to hear live music. Besides, I played a lot of this music, probably the kind when I was under the ground, when I was under there, and so this kind of makes me feel like I'm alive."

The New Victorian School had burned to the ground because of an electrical problem on January twelfth, two thousand. That was exactly ten years to the day of the earthquake that destroyed it again. Romel Joseph rebuilt his school then, and says he plans to do it again.

MARIO RITTER:

The University of Miami was just one of the international groups that sent a team of doctors to Haiti. Medical teams from the United States Department of Health and Human Services have treated thousands of victims. Other patients have been cared for on the United States Navy hospital ship Comfort and other Navy ships sent to Haiti.

But some groups like Doctors Without Borders said patients in field hospitals were dying because of a lack of basic medical supplies like antibiotics⁵. In Washington, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the problem was not getting enough supplies to Haiti. It was getting them delivered to wherever they were needed.

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: "It's the ability to get them on a timely basis into Haiti. So they came on ships. They've come on as many planes as possible. But there was so much needed simultaneously⁶."

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. Before the disaster, it suffered from high death rates among babies and high rates of H.I.V./AIDS, hepatitis and other communicable diseases.

Kathleen Sebelius says the United States had medical teams in Haiti well before the earthquake and will have them there well after.

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: "With more stable infrastructure⁷, once it's rebuilt, with a more robust⁸ health system, there's an opportunity to not only deal with the immediate⁹ tragedy of the earthquake, but hopefully, some of the longer-term crises that Haitians have experienced day in and day out."

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FRITZI BODENHEIMER:

On January twenty-second, a televised concert was held to raise money for earthquake victims in Haiti. It was called "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit For Earthquake Relief." It included performances from Los Angeles, New York and London and live updates from Haiti. Major networks broadcast the concert in the United States and Canada. And viewers around the world saw it on cable and satellite channels and the Internet.

One of the performers was Alicia Keys.

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Actor George Clooney led the event.

GEORGE CLOONEY: "This is an opportunity to help a neighbor in need, in desperate need, and to do it with swiftness, expertise¹⁰, generosity¹¹ and love."

Hollywood stars told stories of survivors and rescue workers in Haiti. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio talked about the medical charity Partners in Health, one of the groups supported by the telethon. He said the doctors, like many relief workers in Haiti, faced a shortage of supplies and had to be creative with the equipment they had.

MARIO RITTER:

Celebrities¹² answered phones as viewers watching the telethon called to make donations.

REESE WITHERSPOON: "Great, well this is Reese Witherspoon. And we really appreciate your call ... "

The Hollywood volunteers included director Steven Spielberg, actor Mel Gibson and actresses Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon.

Musical performers also included Madonna, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono and the Edge. Sheryl Crow performed with Kid Rock and Keith Urban. And Bruce Springsteen sang "We Shall Overcome."

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Haitian-born musician Wyclef Jean spoke¹³ of carrying bodies to a cemetery¹⁴ when he returned to Haiti after the quake. He closed the concert with a call to rebuild Haiti. He also sang about the country.

WYCLEF JEAN: "Earthquake, we see the earth shake, but the soul of the Haitian people, it will never break."

FRITZI BODENHEIMER:

Organizers said the two-hour broadcast raised more than fifty-seven million dollars in the first day through telephone, online and text. They were still adding up amounts like donations from companies and online music sales on iTunes.

Some of the money raised in the telethon will go to Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation. Other charities that will receive money are Oxfam America, the Red Cross, UNICEF, the United Nations World Food Program and the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

After the earthquake, President Obama asked former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to raise money for Haiti. The money is for immediate relief and long-term recovery efforts.

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MARIO RITTER:

An estimated one hundred thousand Haitian-Americans live in New York City. Many live in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, including Ruth Lucie. She said that she lost seventeen family members in the quake.

Groups across New York City have been collecting donations for quake victims. At the Bedford Haitian Community Center, American-born Shamir Henri got his own bad news.

SHAMIR HENRI: "I just found out my aunt and her family over there, her kids and her husband, they're homeless. Their house crashed. As for everyone else, I really don't know what's going on. It's crazy, so it's not good. So far we've been collecting food, water, medical supplies, clothing."

Alex Pierre gave money to the relief effort, but says that does not feel like enough.

ALEX PIERRE: "You are feeling hopeless. If I was in Haiti when that happened, when the earthquake happened, I could go and help somebody that's injured. Somebody that passed away, you take them to the cemetery or do something. And here I sit in my living room, there's nothing that I can do. And that's killing¹⁵ me inside. I feel like a zombie because there's nothing that I can do to my people that's struggling."

FRITZI BODENHEIMER:

Andree La Fleur works at an office operated by Haitian-Americans. They help people with translation services, tutoring, immigration paperwork and other work. She says the earthquake has been personal for her as well. Her six-year-old nephew was killed in the quake.

ANDREE LEFLEUR: "And some of them, they died in the street and the parents don't know where they are. And one day you want to go to the cemetery or something, you can't do it because you don't know where they are. It's very sad, it's very sad. And I don't have words to describe this thing. Nobody in Haiti can forget this day."

Haitians who were in the United States when the earthquake struck will be able to receive temporary protected status, or T.P.S., even if they are in the country illegally. An immigration official in New York, Andrea Quarantillo, explained.

ANDREA QUARANTILLO: "Haitian nationals will be able to remain in the United States legally, be able to obtain authorization¹⁶ to work legally in the United States, be eligible¹⁷ to obtain permission to travel outside the United States, and return to their T.P.S. status."

That means they can travel home to help without fear of being denied re-entry to the United States. Berganette LaPorte was among Haitian immigrants who attended a meeting at the Federal Building in Manhattan where officials explained the program.

BERGANETTE LAPORTE: "It's definitely a relief to us who lives in here because of what's happening, when everything is over we will be able to go back to Haiti without worry, with knowing OK, without nothing bad happening, we'll feel like we're safe over there and then come again back to America safely."

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MARIO RITTER:

Our program was produced by Caty Weaver¹⁸. I'm Mario Ritter.

FRITZI BODENHEIMER:

And I'm Fritzi Bodenheimer. Visit us at voaspecialenglish.com for transcripts¹⁹, MP3s and podcasts of our programs. You can also post comments and get the latest news. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

4 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

5 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

6 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

7 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。

8 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

11 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

12 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

13 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。

14 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

15 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

16 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

17 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

18 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。

19 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句