VOA慢速英语2010年-AMERICAN MOSAIC - Most of New Orleans

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson.

This week on our program …

We visit New Orleans, Louisiana, to learn about the recovery efforts since Hurricane Katrina …

And play music from several of the city's many jazz bands.

(MUSIC)

The French Quarter and Garden District are two of New Orleans' most famous and popular neighborhoods. Walking through these historic² areas, visitors today might find it hard to believe that a deadly storm swept through the city over four years ago. However, most of New Orleans and its people are still struggling to rebuild and recover after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf³ Coast in August of two thousand five. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

Katrina was the costliest⁴ and one of the deadliest hurricanes to ever strike the United States.

Jackson Hill is a photographer who has lived in New Orleans for over thirty years. He took us on a tour through the city's neighborhoods to help understand more about the storm's damage and the slow recovery process.

A house sits next to an empty lot in New Orleans, Louisiana

JACKSON HILL: "Where those cars are going over that little bridge down there where those lights is where the floodwall is. We're going to go right up to it, then we will go over to where the new pumps have been built and the floodgates."

Driving through the neighborhoods of northern and eastern New Orleans, you see many newly built or repaired houses. But there are also a surprising number of areas of empty land where houses used to stand.

JACKSON HILL: "You see, all these vacant lots, they are all houses that are not there."

Mister Hill points out that just because you see houses, does not mean that these neighborhoods have recovered. Many houses that are standing⁵ are still wrecked⁶ and must be torn down. Some are only partly repaired. And he says that when you consider recovery, you cannot just think about the houses in a community.

JACKSON HILL: "You also gotta think about schools, fire stations, police stations. They're all gone too."

New Orleans was built on low-lying wetlands along the Mississippi River. Because of the risk of flooding, the city is surrounded by protective levees and floodwalls. But the poorly designed protection system was widely known to be too weak to protect against a major hurricane.

A damaged house in New Orleans sits abandoned

JACKSON HILL: "And the water here, came in like that, bang."

When Katrina hit, water levels exceeded the height and strength of many of these walls. Many walls broke, allowing billions of liters of water from the Gulf of Mexico and two nearby lakes to flood the city. Eighty percent of the city was underwater for days.

After the storm, recovery and aid efforts by local, state and federal agents were not well organized. This only added to the storm's damage.

As Mister Hill continues driving, he points out many shopping centers that remain empty. Many businesses never reopened after Katrina's destruction. There are empty stores, religious centers and hospitals. This has made it even more difficult for many people to rebuild their lives and communities.

The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center says the city's population is about seventy-seven percent of what it was before Katrina. Many people who fled chose to build new lives in other cities. This has had a huge effect on New Orleans economically, socially and culturally.

One area of the city that has received much media attention is the Lower Ninth Ward⁷. More than four thousand homes were destroyed when a nearby flood wall broke.

Actor Brad Pitt created the Make It Right Foundation to provide money to rebuild in this poor neighborhood. The organization hired top building designers to create modern, environmentally friendly houses. Many sit on tall supports in case of future flooding. One house is built like a boat so that it will rise with flood waters. So far there are about twenty of these colorful new houses. The group plans to build a total of one hundred fifty houses.

A house in the Lower Ninth Ward built by the Make It Right Foundation

Many people have praised Brad Pitt for the work he has done in New Orleans. But others say the extremely modern design of the buildings is insulting because it is not like the design of the city's historic buildings. And some people question whether it is wise to rebuild in an area that could easily flood again. However, everyone agrees that the city is still in great need of safe and affordable⁸ housing.

Josh Neufeld is a comic book artist in New York City. After Katrina hit, he was an emergency volunteer in Biloxi, Mississippi. He wrote an Internet blog about his experiences, which later led to a book. "A.D.: New Orleans after the Deluge⁹" uses drawings and text to tell about the real experiences of several Katrina survivors¹⁰.

JOSH NEUFELD: It's a story that needs to continue to be told. And people need to know that New Orleans is still in recovery. It needs to be supported and appreciated as a unique place.

Critics say this graphic¹¹ novel artfully expresses the survivors' bravery and shows what it was like to live through this disaster.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

One hopeful sign of recovery in New Orleans can be found in the energy of artists who represent the city's rich culture. We spent some time in the lively Bywater and Faubourg Marigny areas to hear local musicians performing in clubs and drinking places.

(MUSIC)

That was "Definitely Maybe" by the Mark Weliky Trio. Guitarist Mark Weliky is from Florida. He moved to New Orleans to study music and enjoy the city's energetic jazz scene. He plays with drummer Paul Thibodeaux and Martin Masakowski on bass¹². Martin's father, Steve Masakowski, is a member of our next band, Astral Project.

Astral Project has been performing in New Orleans since nineteen seventy-eight. The musicians are known for their inventive jazz influenced by funk, rock and world music. Here is their song "Voodoo Bop."

(MUSIC)

Tuba Skinny is a band that takes its listeners back in time to the jazz and blues¹³ music of the nineteen twenties and thirties. The members have been playing together since April of last year. Sometimes they play in the streets of New Orleans. Other times they perform in popular bars. The band's lead singer Erika Lewis moved to New Orleans from New York state because of her love of music. We leave you with Tuba Skinny's version of "Sugar in My Bowl."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written and produced by Dana Demange. For transcripts¹⁴, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com. You can also post comments.

Do you have a question about people, places or things in America? Send it to [email protected] we may answer it on this show. Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA's radio magazine in Special English.
__

Additional reporting by Dina Weinstein.

1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 costliest   

adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失，是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
• Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰？克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

7 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

8 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

9 deluge   

n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥

参考例句：

• This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候，这条小溪能变作洪流。
• I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。

10 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

11 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

12 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

13 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

14 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句