2006年VOA标准英语-Business Booming at Port of New Orleans

By Greg Flakus
New Orleans
28 August 2006

One year after the devastation¹ caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, one of the city's main engines of economic activity is back with a vengeance². Business at the port is now above pre-Katrina levels.

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Large areas of New Orleans remain abandoned and half of the pre-Katrina population remains³ scattered⁴ around the country. Tourism is down below half of what it was before the disaster and many businesses have had to close.

Port of New Orleans    
  
But local leaders see a bright spot at the wharves⁵, warehouses⁶ and ship facilities along the Mississippi river and nearby canals that are all part of the Port of New Orleans.

Gary LaGrange, President and Chief Executive Officer of the port, says there was an initial lag in activity in the weeks following Katrina, but that since then business has picked up dramatically.

"The port has actually exceeded 100 percent of pre-Katrina levels in ship calls and in terms of tonnage is actually four percent up over the previous five-year average," said Gary LaGrange. "That is huge, as far as we are concerned."
 

Gary LaGrange  
  
LaGrange says the figures are especially impressive in view of the fact that the port lost one third of its container yard and terminal capacity as well as its cruise ship operations because of Katrina. The cruise ships are returning to New Orleans in October and he says this will boost port activity even more.

A key factor in the port's increased activity over the past year has been steel and rubber shipments coming from various parts of the world. Gary LaGrange says the steel imports reflect both the decline of steel production in the United States and increased demand for steel by various US industries.

"We have the automotive industry, we have the appliance industry, the construction industry," he said. "That steel has got to come from somewhere. In large part it is now coming from Japan, China, also Brazil and Russia, to a great degree."

LaGrange says this boom at the port of New Orleans is good news for a city still struggling to recover from the worst natural disaster in US history. He says the effects of the port's increased activity are also felt well beyond the Crescent City.

"The port is sort of the economic engine to the city and, in large part, to the entire state of Louisiana," noted⁷ Gary LaGrange. "Our economists⁸ tell us that 380,000 people realize their income as a result of the port of New Orleans, around the nation. Sixty two percent of the consumer-spending public in the United States receive their goods and depend on getting their goods through the gateway⁹ at the port of New Orleans."

Local and state officials are also hoping the economic vitality¹⁰ of the port will help the overall revitalization of New Orleans and its economy. Tourism should get a boost from the return of cruise ships and the opening of a new cruise ship terminal in Bywater, just southeast of the famed French Quarter, next year.

In addition, Gary LaGrange says there are plans for an overall refurbishing of the port area so that it will be an attractive destination for both tourists and city residents.

"We are looking at giving the river back to the people by developing parks and playgrounds and plazas¹¹, mixed-used development areas, pedestrian-friendly areas on the river," he noted. "This is not an original idea. Baltimore has done it. New York has done it. San Diego has done it. San Francisco has done it with a lot of vigor¹². A number of ports have done. So the issue is relocating the industrial and true maritime¹³ activities of 2006 to other areas of the port while we develop and concentrate on new areas, that being the tourism area, and areas for the people that live here."

As part of the proposed Riverfront Development Agreement with the city, the port would provide some wharfs¹⁴ and waterfront areas for parks and recreational facilities, including restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues¹⁵. This idea is still in its very early stages, but local business leaders are encouraged to see port and city officials discussing such a grand scale development for the years ahead. Hope for a better future, they say, is what can help this city move beyond the damage caused by Katrina last year and the difficulties still facing the city today.

1 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

5 wharves   

n.码头，停泊处( wharf的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They are seaworthy and can stand rough handling on the wharves? 适用于海运并能经受在码头上的粗暴装卸。 来自外贸英语口语25天快训
• Widely used in factories and mines, warehouses, wharves, and other industries. 广泛用于厂矿、仓库、码头、等各种行业。 来自互联网

6 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

10 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

11 plazas   

n.（尤指西班牙语城镇的）露天广场( plaza的名词复数 )；购物中心

参考例句：

• At focal points, there are seating plazas as rest points for users. 在主要主景点上，有空间较大的广场提供休息的地方。 来自互联网
• Such products are suitable for lighting and decoration of plazas, courtyards, parks, residential district and roadside. 本产品适合于广场、庭院，公园、小区草坪和道路的装饰和照明。 来自互联网

12 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

13 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

14 wharfs   

码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• Meanwhile, technological renovation of multi-purpose wharfs at various ports will be accelerated. 同时加快港口多用途码头的技术改造。 来自互联网
• At present there are many wharfs with sheet-pile framework in China. 目前国内已建有许多采用板桩结构的码头。 来自互联网

15 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网