VOA标准英语2010年-Haiti's 'Forgotten City' Lost in the R

The historic earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, changed it's capital city Port-au-Prince forever.  And while the American military has secured it's damaged port and streets, international aid organizations supply medical and food supplies and cargo¹ planes fly in around the clock, one place really hasn't changed, either before or after the earthquake and that is the forgotten city, Cite Soleil.

"Cite Soleil is the last place to get anything, if anything. There are places that are impassable because of collapses², but normally people just ignore Cite Soleil," says Pastor³ Mark Dreibelbis, who has run a clinic and orphanage⁴ here since 2006.

And, while the number of patients he treats has increased, he's not over run like other hospitals in Port-au-Prince.

"By and large in Cite Soleil there weren't a whole lot of fatalities⁵. One because there are a lot of tin shacks⁶ and they flexed⁷ and two, the buildings aren't real tall," he says.

But there is one change that nobody welcomed: an increase in crime.  When the earthquake hit it collapsed⁸ the main prison downtown and some 3,000 prisoners escaped, many of them former gang members, who looted the armory⁹ of guns and rifles before they scattered¹⁰, some home to Cite Soleil.

"I saw one yesterday.  Generally they stay underground and come out at night," says Dreibelbis.

And when they come out they prey¹¹ on the poorest of the poor.

Josette Pierre has a small business selling sodas¹² and pots. She has eight children and is a vicitim. She says, "when we ran out during the quake we left everything.  By the time we got back everything was gone, all my money and all my possesions.  Now we are living in the streets."

It's the forgotten city.  And while there is a U.S. hospital ship in the harbour and mobile clinics being deployed,  in Cite Soleil the Mission Ranch¹³ Medical Clinic was here before and will be here after.

"Cite Soleil is a slum of about 200,000 people and it's almost impossible to care for them," says Dreibelbis.

The unchanged injuries from an unchanged...  and forgotten city, Cite Soleil.

 

1 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

2 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

3 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

4 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

5 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 shacks   

n.窝棚，简陋的小屋( shack的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They live in shacks which they made out of wood. 他们住在用木头搭成的简陋的小屋里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most people in Port au-Prince live in tin shacks. 太子港的大多数居民居住在铁皮棚里。 来自互联网

7 flexed   

adj.[医]曲折的，屈曲v.屈曲( flex的过去式和过去分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• He stretched and flexed his knees to relax himself. 他伸屈膝关节使自己放松一下。 来自辞典例句
• He flexed his long stringy muscles manfully. 他孔武有力地弯起膀子，显露出细长条的肌肉。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 armory   

n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Nuclear weapons will play a less prominent part in NATO's armory in the future.核武器将来在北约的军械中会起较次要的作用。
• Every March the Armory Show sets up shop in New York.每年三月，军械博览会都会在纽约设置展场。

10 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

11 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

12 sodas   

n.苏打( soda的名词复数 )；碱；苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• There are plenty of sodas in the refrigerator. 冰箱里有很多碳酸饮料。 来自辞典例句
• Two whisky and sodas, please. 请来两杯威士忌苏打。 来自辞典例句

13 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。