2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Encouraged by Pace of US Gulf Coast Recons

By Scott Stearns
White House
01 March 2007

U.S. President George Bush returned to America's southern Gulf² Coast to visit areas destroyed by a killer³ hurricane 18 months ago. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, opposition⁴ Democrats⁵ say the Bush administration has been slow to distribute funds meant to help those affected⁶.

 
President George Bush in Long Beach, Mississippi, 1 Mar¹ 2007
President Bush says he is encouraged by the progress of rebuilding along the Gulf Coast following the most costly⁷ natural disaster in U.S. history.

"Times are changing for the better. And people's lives are improving," he said. "And there is hope. And I congratulate the good folks in this part of the country for their resiliency, their courage, and the fact that they never abandoned hope."

The president was widely criticized for the government's poor response to Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005.

Mr. Bush responded by sacking the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and making repeated trips to the region. On this 14th visit since the storm, the president again sought to reassure⁸ residents that he is committed to helping⁹ rebuild their lives.

"Part of the reason I have come down is to tell the people here on the Gulf Coast that we still think about them in Washington, and that we listen to the governor when he speaks," he said.

"The other reason I have come down is I want the taxpayers¹⁰ of the United States to see first-hand what their money has done to help revitalize a series of communities that were literally¹¹ wiped-out because of a major storm," he continued.

Mr. Bush met with homeowners and local officials affected by the storm in the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. He said it is the federal government's role to write checks, and the local community's responsibility to decided¹² how that money is best spent.

Congress has approved $110 dollars of relief aid - $8.6 billion have been allocated¹³ to specific projects, and $53 billion of that total have been spent so far.

Democrats in Congress say the Bush administration shares some of the blame for delays in financing.

 
Sen. Mary Landrieu (r), 29 Jan 2007
Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu says she is grateful for the president's visit to the region Thursday but says he needs to do more.

"It's going to take more than words and more than visits," she said. "It's going to take action to get the job done. And I am calling on the president today to use the authority that he has, to use his leadership."

Landrieu want the president to waive¹⁴ the requirement that people who receive federal assistance ultimately repay 10 percent of those funds.

A monthly report by the Brookings Institution research group says demand for essential services continues to overwhelm supply, with overfilled emergency rooms and waiting lists for students at public schools.

The report called on officials at all levels of government to streamline¹⁵ bureaucracy hindering repairs to housing and infrastructure¹⁶ damaged by the storm which killed more than 1,800 people.

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 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。

3 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

11 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

14 waive   

vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等)

参考例句：

• I'll record to our habitat office waive our claim immediately.我立即写信给咱们的总公司提出放弃索赔。
• In view of the unusual circumstances,they agree to waive their requirement.鉴于特殊情况，他们同意放弃他们的要求。

15 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

16 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。