2007年VOA标准英语-Tens of Thousands Live on Streets of Los Angele

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
16 January 2007

Los Angeles has the largest homeless population in the United States, with tens of thousands of people living on the streets or in temporary shelters. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan reports, charitable groups and social agencies are doing what they can to deal with a stubborn problem.

Local officials say more than 80,000 people in Los Angeles County have no regular housing. Here in the run-down section of the city called Skid¹ Row, survival on the streets is a daily challenge.

 
Deena 
Deena has lived the streets for three years.

She said, "It's cold. It's cold. It's not nothing to brag² about. It's just the position I got myself in."

Last night, she slept on the sidewalk, but some evenings, Deena sleeps at a local shelter. The Los Angeles Mission is one of several religious charities that offers a meal, a bed, and counseling for the homeless.

 
Herb Smith 
Herb Smith, the mission's president, said, "L.A. does have by count the largest homeless population in the country. This particular geographic³ area of Skid Row has always been the area where homeless tend to concentrate."

Many on the streets have long-term problems, including addictions⁵ to drugs and alcohol, or mental illness.

 
Jorge Espinoza 
Jorge Espinoza is a Los Angeles Mission chaplain. He knows what it is like on the streets - he was an addict⁴ and once homeless himself.

"I was in and out of prison," he said. "The last time I was facing 15 years to life that they wanted to give me with the habitual⁶ criminal label. They hit you with that one and they'll lock you up and they throw the key away. So I prayed, and I said, I need help."

His prayers were answered. Instead of prison, was allowed to enter a rehabilitation⁷ program. Missions and secular⁸ charities such as the Weingart Center offer food, shelter and more comprehensive help for those who are ready.

Greg Scott, president of the Weingart Center Association, said, "Our primary mission is to provide transitional housing for the homeless, so we have a 611-bed facility throughout 13 different programs."

The programs range from mental health counseling to adult education.

Sharon Spira-Cushnir works for Chrysalis, a non-profit group that helps the homeless find jobs.

"They learn how to do a resume, how to do an interview, where to find job postings," she said. "If they need it, they can get interview clothes, they can get emergency food. They get bus tokens so they can go to their interviews, and they get themselves jobs."

 
Deborah Clifford 
Deborah Clifford was homeless and is now working as a street sweeper.

She said, "You know, it's hard, but when you're determined⁹ to do something, you've just got to stay focused, and that's what I'm trying to do."

Stanley Joseph was also living on the streets, dependent on alcohol. Now sober, he works as a janitor¹⁰.

 
Stanley Joseph 
"It's not a lot of money, but I manage well. I have a room that I stay in. I eat well. It's great. I feel good," said Joseph.

The homeless are often victimized by others on the streets. They keep close watch on their meager¹¹ possessions, stored in grocery carts, plastic bags or baby strollers. An increased police presence has cut crime in the neighborhood, but some critics accuse police of using heavy-handed methods.

 
Captain Andy Smith 
Captain Andy Smith says his officers walk a fine line between enforcing the law and acting¹² as social workers.

He said, "These poor souls down here, especially women that are living in tents out here, are in a terrible situation for anybody to be in. So we do everything we can to get them into housing."

"We do everything we can to get them into drug treatment, and try to help these poor souls down here get off the streets, get off the streets, out of these boxes, out of these tents, into some real housing," he added.

Paul Tepper of the Weingart Development Corporation says the root problems are poverty, the soaring cost of housing in Los Angeles, and the lack of a social safety net for the very poor. He says the missions and other charities are helping¹³.

"It's as if you cut your hand at home. The first thing you do is clean the cut and put and Band-Aid on. That's the role of emergency shelters, to help people one by one to deal with the crises of their lives," he said.

He says new government programs at the state and local level are also helping, but Los Angeles needs more affordable¹⁴ housing and better coordination¹⁵ in its social services. He says every level of government needs to be involved in solving the problem of homelessness.

1 skid   

v.打滑 n.滑向一侧；滑道 ，滑轨

参考例句：

• He braked suddenly,causing the front wheels to skid.他突然剎车，使得前轮打了滑。
• The police examined the skid marks to see how fast the car had been travelling.警察检查了车轮滑行痕迹，以判断汽车当时开得有多快。

2 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

3 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

5 addictions   

瘾( addiction的名词复数 )； 吸毒成瘾； 沉溺； 癖好

参考例句：

• He has removed the stigma of drug addictions. 他已经洗去吸毒的污点了。
• Intelligent people are good at using reason to control excessive addictions. 智慧的人善于用理性来控制过度的嗜欲。

6 habitual   

adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的

参考例句：

• He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
• They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。

7 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

8 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

10 janitor   

n.看门人，管门人

参考例句：

• The janitor wiped on the windows with his rags.看门人用褴褛的衣服擦着窗户。
• The janitor swept the floors and locked up the building every night.那个看门人每天晚上负责打扫大楼的地板和锁门。

11 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

12 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 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。

15 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。