美国有线新闻 CNN 特朗普视察波多黎各灾区 并赴拉斯维加斯慰问

 

U.S. President Donald Trump¹ is scheduled to visit Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday, the scene of the deadliest shooting in modern American history. As investigators² pick up pieces of evidence there and try to figure out the suspect's motive³, residents of Puerto Rico are picking up the pieces left by Hurricane Maria, the devastating⁴ storm made landfall there on September 20th.

That's where President Trump was Tuesday, surveying the damage, meeting with Puerto Rican officials and discussing the U.S. government's aid to the island.

Puerto Rico is a U.S. commonwealth⁵. The island's 3.5 million residents are American citizens, but they don't vote in U.S. presidential elections.

They have no voting members in the U.S. Congress and most Puerto Ricans don't pay a federal income tax.

Hurricane Maria left all of them without electricity and most still don't have it. More than half of people there also don't have access to clean, drinking water. Some Puerto Ricans, like the mayor of the capital San Juan, have criticized the U.S. federal government for making an inefficient⁶ response to the hurricane. Others like the island's government have praised the government for quickly addressing the island's concerns.

The White House says thousands of members of the U.S. National Guard have been in Puerto Rico since before the storm hit and thousands of containers of food, water and medical supplies have been sent to Puerto Rico. But with the shortage of truck drivers, diesel⁷ fuel and working phone lines, officials have had trouble getting the aid to those who need it.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The thing about Puerto Rico is that it was already on the edge. Many here are sick, older and poorer than the mainland, with long waits and a severe shortage of specialists and an economic recession. There was no reserve here, nothing to keep them from toppling off the edge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hurricane just causes a lot of stress. You have people, you know, coming late from work, trying to get gas, and stress builds up.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

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 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

6 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

7 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。