VOA标准英语2010年-Haitians Use Range of Technologies, Ol

Communication in and around the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince is at a standstill after Tuesday's devastating¹ earthquake. With cell phone service and landlines down, Haitians around the world are seeking out any means possible to reach their families. Their efforts have shown the importance of both old and new technologies in getting the word out.

When Tuesday's massive earthquake made communication by phone virtually impossible, many Haitians turned to the Internet.

Social-networking sites like Twitter and Facebook quickly became a bridge between those inside the country and their family members on the outside.

Haitian-American Yves Colon², a journalism³ professor at the University of Miami, says the sites proved crucial for him and many others during the first hours of the disaster.

"The only thing that was working, spottily even, was Internet, and a few people were sending out messages to Twitter. That was the only way really for us to get a sense of what things were, what the situation was like and how people were and who was hurt and who was not hurt," he said.

With many local sources of information paralyzed, others turned to Haitian radio stations outside the country for answers.

Hundreds of people have reached out to stations in Florida, New York and Pennsylvania looking for news about their relatives.

Broadcasters, like VOA's Washington D.C.-based Creole Service, which airs in Haiti have been able to maintain contact with the country using shortwave radio frequencies.

Ronald Cesar, the chief of the Creole Service says he received several calls for help.

"I got several calls from Haitians in the Washington metro⁴ area asking me how they could send messages to their relatives in Haiti, because communication is down, not too many people can call a number or reach a number in Haiti," he said.

The Creole Service has now set up a hotline to help Haitians both inside and outside of the country communicate with their loved ones.

"The way it works, we have set up a phone number, and it is toll⁵ free, we accept all the charges. The number is 202-205-9942 and they have to press number 42, and then they will hear a greeting and they can leave their messages. What the Creole service does once it gets those messages, we play them in our broadcasts so that people everywhere can hear them," he said.

Cesar says shortwave technology, which dates back to the 1920s, is one of the best ways to reach people in Haiti during a time like this, when most local radio stations are unable to broadcast.

VOA and other news outlets⁶ are also using pages on Facebook and Twitter to share information, further demonstrating that when it comes to communicating in a disaster, all types of technology are critical.

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

3 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

4 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》