2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Marks Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in

By Scott Stearns
Washington
29 August 2006

 
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush attend a service commemorating¹ the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina at St. Louis Cathedral, August 29, 2006 in New Orleans
  

President Bush is in the southern city of New Orleans marking the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,000 people and devastated² much of the southern U.S. Gulf³ Coast.

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The president and Mrs. Bush joined hundreds of worshippers at St. Louis Cathedral in the heart of New Orleans' famed French Quarter.

They lit candles of remembrance and knelt for a moment of silence to mark the anniversary of the first breach⁴ of the city's levees, which ultimately left 80 percent of New Orleans under water.

Following the service, President Bush told local leaders at a high school that the challenge is not only to help rebuild, but to restore the soul and the rhythms of everyday life.
 

George W. Bush  
  
"Some of you still do not know whether you have a neighborhood to come back to. Others of you who have made the decision to return are living in trailers," he said. "Many are separated from their loved ones, and simply long to go to church on a Sunday afternoon with somebody you care about."

Following the storm, President Bush was widely criticized for the slow pace of the federal response. More than two-thirds of Americans still disapprove⁵ of his handling of Hurricane Katrina, according to an Associated Press poll earlier this month.

Mr. Bush says he takes full responsibility for the federal response to the nation's costliest⁶ natural disaster - a storm that he says brought terrible scenes that Americans never thought they would see in their own country.

"Citizens drowned in their attics⁷. Desperate mothers crying out on national TV for food and water. A breakdown⁸ of law and order, and a government at all levels that fell short of its responsibilities," said President Bush. "When the rains stopped and this wounded city was laid bare, our television screens showed faces worn down by poverty and despair."

Half of New Orleans still has no electricity and half of the city's hospitals remain closed.

President Bush says the federal government will stand with the people of the Gulf Coast until the job is done.

The Army Corps⁹ of Engineers is spending nearly $6 billion to repair and strengthen levees to make the entire hurricane protection system better by 2010.

The federal government has committed more than $10 billion to pay for damage not covered by insurance for eligible¹⁰ homeowners. Washington has provided nearly $1.5 billion to small business owners in Louisiana and more than $5.5 billion to repair roads and bridges, schools, water systems, and public utilities.

President Bush told an audience in New Orleans Tuesday that the city wants her children to come home.

Mr. Bush spoke¹¹ at a high school as part of events marking the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The school is set to re-open in a few days, after being damaged when Katrina's force overcame the city's floodwalls last year.

Mr. Bush said that during the flood the school's classrooms were under three meters of water.

Mr. Bush also renewed his vow¹² to do whatever it takes to help the city and the region recover. He praised the city's residents for their acts of courage during the disaster and the ongoing¹³ recovery, calling them "the very best of America."

The newly constructed Industrial Canal levee wall in the lower ninth ward¹⁴ of New Orleans is seen in this July 6, 2006 file photo  
  
But many homes in New Orleans' hardest hit neighborhoods are still in ruins, and some areas still lack basic services such as water and electricity. The city's population is around 200,000 today, about half of what it was before the storm.

The lack of recovery in the city has generated a lot of criticism for the Bush administration, and for local and state governments.

Katrina was one of the most destructive storms in U.S. history. The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Katrina left more than 1,800 people dead and several hundred more missing when it devastated parts of the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

The president has said Hurricane Katrina revealed that federal, state and local governments were not prepared to deal with such a catastrophe¹⁵. The federal government has committed $110 billion in resources to help the region recover.

On Monday, Mr. Bush toured the hard-hit town of Biloxi, Mississippi. He praised residents and volunteer workers for their courage and determination in rebuilding. He said about 98 percent of the debris¹⁶ has been removed in Biloxi.

1 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

2 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

3 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。

4 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

5 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

6 costliest   

adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失，是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
• Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰？克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网

7 attics   

n. 阁楼

参考例句：

• They leave unwanted objects in drawers, cupboards and attics. 他们把暂时不需要的东西放在抽屉里、壁橱中和搁楼上。
• He rummaged busily in the attics of European literature, bringing to light much of interest. 他在欧洲文学的阁楼里忙着翻箱倒笼，找到了不少有趣的东西。

8 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

9 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

10 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。

11 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。

12 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

13 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

14 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

15 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

16 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。