IN THE NEWS - Leader of Storm Recovery Efforts Replaced on G

IN THE NEWS - Leader of Storm Recovery Efforts Replaced on Gulf¹ Coast
By VOA's Staff

Broadcast: Saturday, September 10, 2005

I'm Doug Johnson with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

 
Vice² Admiral Thad Allen 
The Bush administration has named a new leader for the federal recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen will command the operations in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

He takes the place of Michael Brown, director of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Friday that he has directed Mister Brown "to return to administering FEMA nationally."

Critics of Mister Brown have called for his resignation or dismissal. Reports say he waited until Katrina hit land last week before he requested a large deployment³ of federal workers to the Gulf Coast.

Louisiana officials have ordered twenty-five thousand body bags to hold remains⁴ in case the number of victims is that high. But a New Orleans official said the first major search for bodies in the flooded city found many fewer than expected. He called the number "relatively⁵ minor⁶" compared to warnings of ten thousand dead.

 
New Orleans
Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by Katrina are now in shelters all over the country. This week, Congress approved fifty-two thousand million dollars more in aid for the affected⁷ areas. That was in addition to ten and one-half thousand million approved earlier.

The storm has opened up discussion and debate about racial and economic divisions in society. Many of those affected are poor and black. Accusations⁸ of racism⁹ add fuel to anger over the speed at which help arrived.

President Bush called the early federal efforts unacceptable. But critics say the president himself showed a lack of leadership. For Democrats¹⁰, the storm hit at a time when his approval ratings were already down because of the war in Iraq. Mister Bush was at his home in Texas when Katrina struck.

The president and Republican leaders in Congress have announced investigations¹² into what went wrong. But minority Democrats want an independent investigation¹¹.

President Bush on Friday thanked more than one hundred countries that have offered assistance to the victims of Katrina. White House officials said he will make another visit to the Gulf Coast on Sunday and will stay overnight.

Sunday is the fourth anniversary of the September eleventh terrorist attacks. Before then, FEMA was independent. Now is it part of Homeland Security, a department created after Nine-Eleven.

 
Michael Brown
Michael Brown joined FEMA in February of two thousand one as its top lawyer. The president nominated him as deputy director soon after the attacks, then later as director. The Senate confirmed him both times. His former employer was the International Arabian Horse Association.

Secretary Chertoff says Katrina is the largest natural disaster in American history. But he notes that hurricane season continues. And he says his department also has to be ready for other events, "natural or man-made." But, after Katrina, many critics say the department has to do a better job to balance its responsibilities.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English can be found online at www.tingroom.com. I'm Doug Johnson.

1 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。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

7 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。

8 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

9 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。