2006年VOA标准英语-Former US Disaster Official Defends Role i

By Deborah Tate
Washington
10 February 2006

A former federal disaster chief says he warned President Bush and other administration officials about Hurricane Katrina before the storm struck the Gulf¹ Coast last year. The former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency testified before a Senate panel investigating the administration's slow response to the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.

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Michael Brown  
  

In testimony² before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the former head of FEMA, Michael Brown, took issue with Bush administration officials who argue they did not know the full extent of the severity of Hurricane Katrina until a day after the August 29 storm struck.

He said on the eve of the hurricane, he held a video conference call with administration officials, including President Bush, in which he warned that a disaster was imminent³ and the government should be prepared to respond.

"I did not want to hear anyone say they could not do anything," he said. "I wanted them to do everything they humanly could to respond to this, because I knew in my heart, senator, that this was the bad one."

But at the White House, spokesman Scott McClellan disputed Brown's testimony, saying there were conflicting reports in the initial aftermath of the hurricane about the severity of the storm.

In his testimony, Brown called on Congress to remove FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security, which he argued is more focused on preventing terrorist attacks than responding to natural disasters, and keep it as an independent agency.

"The policies and the decisions that were implemented⁴ by DHS put FEMA on a path to failure," he said.

Under questioning from Senator Mark Pryor, an Arkansas Democrat⁵, Brown - who was forced to resign two weeks after the disaster - said he feels he has been forced to take the blame for the poor response to Katrina.

Pryor: Do you feel like you have been set up to be the scapegoat⁶, the fall guy?

Brown: Yes, sir.

Pryor: Do you feel like the administration has done that to you?"

Brown: I do feel somewhat abandoned.

Hurricane Katrina, which devastated⁷ parts of the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people and displaced hundreds of thousands of others.

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 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

4 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 scapegoat   

n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊

参考例句：

• He has been made a scapegoat for the company's failures.他成了公司倒闭的替罪羊。
• They ask me to join the party so that I'll be their scapegoat when trouble comes.他们想叫我入伙，出了乱子，好让我替他们垫背。

7 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。