VOA标准英语2009-Four Years after Katrina, New Orleans Making

By Greg Flakus
New Orleans
17 November 2009

 
One of the so-called Brad Pitt houses in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward¹ 
More than four years after Hurricane Katrina struck and flood waters washed over New Orleans, the city is showing signs of significant recovery. The population is still not back to pre-Katrina levels, but rebuilding efforts and tourism are thriving.
These are known locally as Brad Pitt houses, because money from the actor's Make It Right Foundation supported their design and construction.

There are about 20 such homes here in the Lower Ninth Ward and the foundation hopes to eventually provide secure shelter to 150 families here.

All of the houses are eco-friendly, equipped with solar panels and built to withstand hurricane winds and flooding.

 
Colin Foots
Colin Foots says his new house will come through fine if another powerful hurricane hits.

"Well, I should come through," said Colin Foots. "You see this here? That is concrete and all that outside there is concrete."

Like most here, this house is elevated, and architects are experimenting with other ideas, too.

"This house right here floats," he said. "It is built on a boat. It don't look like it, it looks like a regular house, but it is supposed to raise 12 feet [3.6 meters]."

Floods from Katrina devastated² the Lower Ninth Ward. Many houses still have not been rebuilt.

The Brad Pitt houses stand in contrast to the empty lots all around.

These colorful and ultramodern new homes occupy only a small portion of the area devastated by Hurricane Katrina four years ago, but they offer the city something it badly needs, hope for the future.

Tourism also is playing a vital role in New Orleans' economic recovery.

 
Allison Plyer
Allison Plyer is director of the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center.
 
"The outpouring from America as a whole in supporting the city of New Orleans has been incredibly important," said Allison Plyer. "It is really immeasurable, how many volunteers have come to help rebuild homes, how they have gone out and raised funds for the city."

Private and government recovery funds have helped New Orleans come through the recession better than some other parts of the country. Plyer says the city's unemployment rate is about two percentage points lower than the national average

"New Orleans is doing well," she said. "It is a gigantic disaster that we are recovering from. It is probably going to take us about ten years, most experts believe, so we are about four years into that."

Plyer says New Orleans' population is about 77 percent of what it was before Katrina, and the city's future depends on developing assets that have always supported the city's economy.

"What New Orleans needs to do is build its transportation infrastructure³, you know, ports, railroads," said Allison Plyer. "That is what New Orleans was built for in the first place. The Mississippi River is the transportation artery⁴ for a gigantic portion of the entire United States."

There are many problems to be overcome yet, but New Orleans has come a long way in the past few years and people here are more than ready for le bon temps, the good times, to return.

1 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。

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 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。

4 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。