VOA标准英语2009年-Devastated Village in American Samoa Recov

By Mike O'Sullivan
Leone, American Samoa
04 October 2009

At least 170 people have been confirmed dead following last week's earthquake and tsunami¹ in the Pacific Islands of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga. Some towns escaped with minor² damage, but other seaside villages were devastated³. Mike O'Sullivan visited the village of Leone in American Samoa, and reports that the community has pulled together in the disaster's aftermath.

 
Young girls play inside a tent at a camp housing survivors⁴ at Vailoa village along Samoa's south east coast, after a deadly tsunami, 03 Oct 2009 
Leone was hit hard by the tsunami. Last Tuesday, the usually peaceful ocean surged into a mountain of water that swept through the scenic⁵ seaside village, on the southwest side of the main island.

Angela Laumoli, a high school vice⁶ principal, says the 3,000 villagers are drawing on ties of kinship, friendship, and church membership to get through the trauma⁷.

"We are going to commit all our day hours today to help clean up so that at least whatever we can save, we can save," said Laumoli. "And we need to clean up so that they can come and build new residential⁸ places for our families here."

Fiu John Saelua, a hereditary⁹ village chief, says the devastation¹⁰ is widespread and the recovery will be daunting¹¹. At least 10 villagers have died. He says residents found six bodies on the day of the tsunami.

"We found three the next day, and then there's still one missing up to now," said Saelua.

One of the injured also died in the hospital. A downtown post office and market were destroyed.

Leone is full of churches, including the first on the island, a Congregational church founded by a British missionary¹² in the 1800s. Church member Moana Aumavai says the damage was minor.

"There was just debris¹³ and ocean water that went in," said Aumavai.

A nearby school is still standing¹⁴, and the local Catholic church also suffered only minor damage.

Residents who are coping with the ravages¹⁵ of nature say the bonds of community are helping¹⁶ them recover. Dozens came to the beach to sift¹⁷ through piles of clothes and textiles, truck tires and personal belongings¹⁸. Nearby, others are cleaning out partially¹⁹ collapsed²⁰ homes and buildings, including the beach structures used for traditional ceremonies. Eighteen-year-old college student Jolin Filemoni says the effort has brought her closer to her family.

"We've been praying a lot," said Filemoni. "You know, these things happen for a reason, for families to come together."

As officials assess the damage, Chief Fiu John Saelua says people of the village are optimistic, despite their losses.

"The spirit is high, back to normal," added Saelua. "The whole village has pulled together to help each other. It's going to take months."

But, he insists, the village of Leone will recover.  

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 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。

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 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

8 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

9 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

10 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》

11 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

12 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

13 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。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 ravages   

劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹

参考例句：

• the ravages of war 战争造成的灾难
• It is hard for anyone to escape from the ravages of time. 任何人都很难逃避时间的摧残。

16 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。

17 sift   

v.筛撒，纷落，详察

参考例句：

• Sift out the wheat from the chaff.把小麦的壳筛出来。
• Sift sugar on top of the cake.在蛋糕上面撒上糖。

18 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

19 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

20 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。