美国国家公共电台 NPR--Federal officials are promising aid to storm-ravaged communities in Mississippi

Federal officials are promising¹ aid to storm-ravaged communities in Mississippi

Transcript²

Mississippi surveys the wreckage³ and cleans up after a devastating⁴ tornado⁵ that killed more than two dozen people

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The tough road to recovery is coming into view for communities in northwestern Mississippi.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A tornado outbreak over the weekend killed at least 26 people and has left hundreds of people displaced with no homes to return to. Federal disaster aid is on the way to help both individuals and local governments start to rebuild.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Debbie Elliott has been in and around the hard hit town of Rolling Fork. She joins us now. Debbie, let's start with what's happening where you are right now.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE⁶: Well, it's been cleanup and emergency relief. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves yesterday said that the search and rescue phase has been winding⁷ down because teams did spend much of the weekend digging through rubble⁸ to make sure that no one else was trapped. So now it's about just trying to repair basic infrastructure⁹. You know, 75% of Rolling Fork is pretty much flattened¹⁰. This is a predominantly Black town of about 2,000 people. You know, city hall is damaged. The water tower blew down. Power lines are just everywhere. The generator¹¹ at the hospital needs repairs.

So as crews start to work on that and they're clearing away some of the debris¹², volunteers have just descended¹³ on the town. They've got food, water supplies, clothing, you know, diapers, anything that people might need if you've lost everything you own, right? Shelters are open. And it sounds like a lot of the displaced people have found, you know, refuge with friends and relatives. But, you know, that's not a long-term solution to what they're facing here.

MART?NEZ: No. And that list of destruction you mentioned, Debbie, I mean, where do local officials even begin to think about rebuilding?

ELLIOTT: You know, top of mind, other than just sort of getting the power grid¹⁴ back up - right? - and the water on, is housing. This is a very rural region here in the heart of the Mississippi Delta¹⁵. This is farm country. People don't have a lot of resources, as Michel mentioned. The closest hotels are more than 30 miles away. Here's what Sharkey County Supervisor¹⁶ Leroy Smith says needs to happen.

LEROY SMITH: Right now, what we need is to be able to make sure that our citizens that's been uprooted¹⁷ and don't have a place that they can stay and be able to take showers, a place to lay down at night and food for their families to eat - until we can get this situation under control and get it worked out.

ELLIOTT: You know, things most of us take for granted, right? So the FEMA administrator¹⁸ was here and says long-term housing is a priority for the agency and that they're going to be here to see it through. I also spoke¹⁹ with Congressman²⁰ Bennie Thompson, who emphasized that, you know, putting people in hotels with vouchers²¹ is not a workable solution - something that's often used in disasters. He says if residents had wanted to move away from this small town to a big city, they'd have already left.

MART?NEZ: Yeah, it's home.

ELLIOTT: Right.

MART?NEZ: So how are the people there that call the place home are - how are they coping with the aftermath?

ELLIOTT: You know, so many people who lost everything that I've been speaking with just say they're thankful to have survived and are taking things day by day. That is even the message that I heard from Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker when I asked him to describe what he's up against.

ELDRIDGE WALKER: I really cannot find words to define it. When I woke up this morning, I said, Lord, just help me make it through another day. That's all I got. I ain't got nothing else. Help me be able to help these families to make it through. That's all I got.

ELLIOTT: This is also personal for Mayor Walker. He is the funeral director, so he's been having to care for grieving families through all this, people he's calling his lifelong friends. So it's a lot.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Debbie Elliott speaking with us this morning from Vicksburg, Miss. Debbie, thanks.

ELLIOTT: You're welcome.

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

4 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。

5 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

8 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

9 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。

10 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

11 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

12 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。

13 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

14 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

15 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

16 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

17 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

19 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

20 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

21 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）