2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Heads to Gulf Coast for Hurricane Annivers

By Paula Wolfson
White House
27 August 2006

President Bush travels Monday to America's Gulf¹ Coast as the region marks the passage of one year since Hurricane Katrina hit landfall. The president plans to visit with storm survivors² and inspect reconstruction³ efforts.

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George W. Bush    
  
President Bush will begin his tour of the region in Mississippi - one of the states that felt the full fury of Hurricane Katrina.

The head of the federal government's Gulf Coast reconstruction effort, Donald Powell, says the president will have a message for the people of the Gulf Coast

He spoke⁴ on the ABC television program This Week.

"The president's number one message is that there has been progress but we are not done," said Donald Powell. "We are not going to leave until we are done."

In Mississippi, the president will walk through neighborhoods hard hit by last year's storm, visit a recovering business, and meet with local and state leaders.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour says most of his state has moved from recovery to rebuilding. During an appearance on the CBS program Face the Nation, he said there is a lot to do but stressed Mississippi is ready to face the challenge of another hurricane season.

"Well, we are ready," said Haley Barbour. "Of course, we had a great plan last time and we got hit by the worst natural disaster in American history."

Barbour said if Hurricane Ernesto, which is now over the Caribbean, changes course and appears headed for the Gulf Coast, he will order an evacuation on Tuesday. That is the day President Bush is scheduled to spend in New Orleans, Louisiana, where an evacuation plan put in place before Hurricane Katrina failed on a massive scale.

Local, state and federal officials have all been blamed for the initial slow response to Katrina in New Orleans, where thousands of the city's poorest residents found themselves trapped in rapidly deteriorating⁵ conditions at shelters set up at a sports arena⁶ and a convention center.

President Bush came under criticism because he remained on vacation when the extent of the disaster first became known, and because he initially⁷ praised those responsible for the flawed early federal response.

The president made a series of visits to the city in the following days when he promised aid and reforms in the federal government's emergency response agency.

"Tonight I also offer this pledge [to] the American people," said President Bush. "Throughout the area hit by the hurricane we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives."

 
Ray Nagin (file photo) 
  
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, said the president is getting closer to keeping his pledge. He said one problem is the federal government has imposed too much bureaucracy on the aid process, and more assistance needs to go directly to local communities.

"Now the dollars are flowing from the federal government to the state, but they really haven't gotten down to local government and the people to impact and accelerate this [rebuilding effort]," said Ray Nagin.

Nagin told NBC his city has an evacuation plan in place for this hurricane season, and there will be no recurrence⁸ of the chaos⁹ that followed Hurricane Katrina. But he indicated he is not convinced the repaired levees around the city will be strong enough if another major hurricane makes landfall in the New Orleans area. He said a storm surge could still top the repaired levee walls.

1 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。

2 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

3 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

4 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。

5 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

6 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

7 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

8 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。

9 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。