New Yorkers Take Transit Woes in Stride

New Yorkers Take Transit¹ Woes² in Stride

 NEW YORK — Life regained³ some semblance⁴ of normalcy on Thursday for New Yorkers affected⁵ by superstorm Sandy, as public transportation started to come online and millions of people returned to work.  But for those hardest hit by Sandy, the National Guard delivered ready-to-eat meals and bottled water.

New Yorkers are known for their toughness and sometimes their testiness⁶.  But on Thursday, despite long lines for buses from the borough⁷ of Brooklyn to Manhattan, most New Yorkers were in a good mood.  On average, commuters waited half an hour for free buses to take them to a central Manhattan drop-off point where they could then reach their final destinations through a combination of local buses, limited subway service and walking.

Erlene was among the thousands of people trying to make it into work.  She said the bus line was moving slowly, but no one was complaining.

“It's just going nicely, everybody is doing well, no complaints.  Thank you MTA [i.e., Mass Transit Authority].  In times like these, we do come together,” she said.

Tony, a staffer at the ESPN sports television channel, said he was trying to make it to the west side of Manhattan.  He had been waiting about 45 minutes, but was philosophical⁸ about the inconvenience.

“It's all right.  Considering what we went through and what others are going through, the MTA is doing a great job,” he said.

On New York's Staten Island, which was hard-hit by the storm, ferry service remained suspended.  Authorities recovered four more bodies on the island Thursday, including two young brothers who had been swept from their home by the storm surge.

Nearly two million New Jersey⁹ residents are still without power as they struggle to recover from Sandy.  Their train system is not operating yet as the state awaits new rail cars to be flown in by the Department of Defense¹⁰ to replace ones that were lost or damaged in the storm.

In New York, taxi driver Lal worried that there could be fuel shortages.

“I'm worried about the gas today.  There is no gas.  The gas stations are closed.  All, most, of the gas stations are closed.  If no gas, maybe no working tomorrow,” Lal said.

As some New Yorkers struggle to recover from the storm, Governor Andrew Cuomo urged residents to look out for one another.

“If you know there is a person down the hall, a senior citizen down the hall, if you know there's a family who might need help down the hall, walk down the hall, knock on the door and say is there anything I can do?,” Cuomo said.

Along with restarting New York's mass transit system, restoring electricity is the city's top priority.  Mayor Michael Bloomberg says more than half a million residents are without power, down from a peak of 750,000.

Consolidated¹¹ Edison, the company that supplies power to the city, says residents in Midtown and Lower Manhattan will have their electricity restored by Saturday.  For others, the wait could be much longer.

Some Lower Manhattan residents, like Michael Victor, are doubtful that power will be back on by Saturday.

“I have hope, but I'm skeptical,” Victor said.

Mayor Bloomberg says that city parks will reopen early Saturday and that public schools will be open on Monday.  He says there have been few arrests for looting and no murders in the city during the past two days, dispelling¹² fears that crime would rise in the storm's aftermath.

There are other signs that life is slowly returning to normal.  Many shops and businesses have reopened, and shelves were being restocked.  Area airports resumed more operations on Thursday, and it was announced that the New York City Marathon will go on as scheduled on Sunday.  The United Nations also reopened after severe flooding caused the world body to close its sprawling¹³ East River complex for three days.

1 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

2 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

3 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

4 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

5 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。

6 testiness   

n.易怒，暴躁

参考例句：

• Testiness crept into my voice. 我的话音渐渐带上了怒气。 来自辞典例句

7 borough   

n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇

参考例句：

• He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
• That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。

8 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

12 dispelling   

v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He succeeded in dispelling our suspicious and won our confidence. 他终于消除了我们的怀疑，得到了我们的信任。 来自辞典例句
• Truth is a torch, which can pierce the mist without dispelling it. 真理是一个火炬，不用驱散大雾，其火炬即能透过。 来自互联网

13 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇