2006年VOA标准英语-Public Health-Risk Questions for Returning

By June Soh and Rosanne Skirble
New Orleans
26 April 2006
 
watch Post Katrina Health report 

Mold is still present on this kitchen door in a New Orleans home  
  
When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf¹ Coast last August, 500,000 people lived in New Orleans.  Those who could evacuate² did.  Now, seven months later, fewer than half the city's population has returned.  Recent polls indicate a majority of residents living elsewhere wants to come back, but they are worried by the city's uncertain future.  Their concerns range from the safety of the levees to the lack of housing and jobs.  And they worry, too, about the public health risks in the mold and muck the flooding left behind.  This report is narrated³ by Margaret Kennedy.

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More than seven months after Hurricane Katrina unleashed⁴ her fury on this Gulf Coast City, most of New Orleans is still a remarkably⁵ desolate⁶ place.  Flood-damaged homes have been turned inside out with the belongings⁷ stacked in piles out on the streets. 

 

Ollie Robinson   
  

Ollie Robinson, a returning resident, has gutted⁹ her first floor and treated for mold.  Pointing to a line on a wall stud as high as she is tall, she says, "Right here. You see on the boards.  That is how high the water actually got." She says she followed health advisories¹⁰ and wore protective gear distributed by volunteer groups while work was being done.   Other than a spider bite she says she has not had any health problems.  But she is concerned about relatives, "But my brother-in-law did.  My brother did.  And I have a friend.  He can hardly walk a block.  He can't breathe good."

Recent analysis by the Natural Resources Defense¹¹ Council, a non-profit environmental organization, and other groups found mold in the air and toxic¹² chemicals in the soil that present potentially serious health risks to returning residents.

Wilma Subra  
  
Wilma Subra is an environmental chemist. She has taken samples of sediment¹³ from impacted areas and assessed the public health situation.  The samples show levels of arsenic¹⁴ and lead three times higher than Louisiana state standards. "The health impacts we are seeing are skin rashes, infections of the skin that don't respond to normal antibiotic¹⁵ treatment.  And then the respiratory [problems] -- a lot of people have caught a 'Katrina cough.'  You have asthma¹⁶ attacks. You have chronic¹⁷ bronchitis."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency disputes the reports from the environmental groups.

Sam Coleman, a senior EPA official, says the EPA and other federal and state agencies have taken more than 1,000 soil samples.  Air and water sampling is on-going.  Coleman says the results should not deter¹⁸ residents wanting to return.  

 
Sam Coleman
  
"The environment in New Orleans in particular and in the Gulf Coast in general is basically the same or in some cases better than it was pre-storm." 

Toxicologist Tom Harris with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality shares that view. "Where we disagree with (environmental groups) is interpretation¹⁹ of the soil and sediment data."   "Is it safe for people to come back long-term?  Is it safe for people to bring their children back?  That is what we are still evaluating.  The overwhelming answer is that it is safe."

Robin⁸ Barrett  
  
Robin Barrett, whose home is in an upscale community that was also inundated²⁰ after Katrina, hears that message. "I kind of kept up with the reports when I was in Houston as to what was going on down here.  Right now I am coming back home. The things that I need to do as far as the inside of my house is concerned have been done.  That's all I can do -- take it one day at a time."

But as she looks around at the gutted homes and debris²¹ piles that stretch down the street, she wonders how many others will follow her lead.
 
 

 

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 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

3 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

6 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

7 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

8 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

9 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 advisories   

n.（有关进展、动向、建议等的）报告( advisory的名词复数 )；公告；通告；通报

参考例句：

• Compliance with Practice Advisories is optional. 是否遵守实务公告由审计师自行选择决定。 来自互联网
• Hardened-PHP: not as such a PHP security information website, but it does have security advisories. 增强PHP:不仅仅是一个PHP安全新的网站，它还提供安全建议。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

13 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

14 arsenic   

n.砒霜，砷；adj.砷的

参考例句：

• His wife poisoned him with arsenic.他的妻子用砒霜把他毒死了。
• Arsenic is a poison.砒霜是毒药。

15 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

16 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

17 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

18 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

19 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

20 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。