VOA慢速英语--拜登会见房屋倒塌的家属，搜救工作暂停

President Joe Biden met with families and emergency workers affected¹ by the collapse² of a building last week near Miami, Florida.

The partial collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium building killed at least 18 people. And 145 people are missing. Hundreds of emergency and rescue workers have been searching the debris³ for signs of life. No one has been rescued since the first hours after the collapse.

Biden met privately⁴ on Thursday with friends and family members of those affected by the collapse. He spoke⁵ in very personal terms.

Biden said he knew about loss. His first wife Neilia and baby daughter Naomi died in a car accident in 1972. In 2015, his adult son Beau died of brain cancer.

"I just wish there was something I could do to ease the pain," he said in a video posted on Instagram. The video was posted by Jacqueline Patoka, a woman who was close friends with a man and a woman and their daughter who are still missing.

"The people you may have lost — they're gonna be with you your whole life," he told the families. "A part of your soul, a part of who you are.

Thursday morning the president spoke with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Biden said that he believed the federal government has "the power to pick up 100 percent of the cost" of the search and cleanup. He urged local officials to look to the federal government for help.

"There's gonna be a lot of pain and anxiety and suffering and even the need for psychological help in the days and months that follow," Biden said. "And so, we're not going anywhere."

The president and first lady Jill Biden's visit came as rescue efforts at the collapse area were halted Thursday. Officials said there was concern about damage to the remaining structure.

Rescue workers noticed several cracks in the building that had gotten larger. Alan Cominsky is the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief. He said a large support hanging from the wreckage⁶ moved at least 15 centimeters and "could fall and cause damage" to the support structure in the underground parking area.

Officials also saw movement in pieces of the floor "that could cause additional failure of the building," he said.

Biden also met with emergency workers. They have been working all day and night on a rescue effort that has now lasted a week.

"What you're doing here is incredible, having to deal with the uncertainty," Biden said.

Biden talked about the car crash that killed his first wife and daughter as a moment when he and his family needed emergency workers.

"Until we need you, no one fully⁷ appreciates what you do, he said. "But I promise you — we know. We know."

Biden has supported an investigation⁸ into the cause of the collapse. In 2018, an engineering report said it had found "major structural⁹ damage" in the building. The report also found cracking of concrete supports and walls in the lower level of the building.

While speaking with reporters Thursday, Biden said the families he met were "committed" to knowing what happened to their loved ones and what caused the collapse.

"I walked away impressed by their strength," he said.

Words in This Story

condominium — n. a room or set of rooms that is owned by the people who live there and that is part of a larger building containing other similar sets of rooms

debris –n. the pieces that are left after something has been destroyed

anxiety — n. fear or nervousness about what might happen

psychological — adj. of or relating to the mind

crack ----n. a thin line on the surface of a material that shows it is breaking

incredible — adj. extremely good, great, or large

appreciate – v. to understand the worth or importance of (something or someone) : to admire and value (something or someone)

committed — adj. willing to give your time, energy, etc., to something

impressed – v. willing to give your time, energy, etc., to something

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 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。

4 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

5 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。

6 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。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。