2007年VOA标准英语-US National Guard: Still Unprepared for Large-S

By Leta Hong Fincher
Washington, D.C.
20 July 2007
 

Almost two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated¹ the U.S. Gulf² Coast, the National Guard says it remains³ ill-prepared to respond to a sudden disaster. Some lawmakers are calling for better planning in the event of a large-scale natural disaster or terrorist attack. Leta Hong Fincher has more.

Lieutenant4 General Steven Blum" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070723/0924290.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Army Lieutenant General Steven Blum

Army Lieutenant General Steven Blum, head of the U.S. National Guard, says that if there were advance notice, his division today would be able to respond to a domestic emergency such as Hurricane Katrina.  "We are far better prepared today than we were just several months ago, and dramatically better prepared than we were five years ago."

But Blum says the National Guard is still unprepared for a sudden, major disaster: not just a hurricane, but a terrorist nuclear attack.

"In a predictable event,” explained the general, “we can make do with not having enough equipment, because we can move it around. In a no-notice event, we're at risk, and we're at significant risk."

Disasters such as floods, hurricanes and nuclear attacks are responded to by the National Guard

At a Senate hearing on U.S. disaster response, Senate independent Joseph Lieberman cited a recent study that said Washington has failed to plan for a catastrophe⁵ such as a terrorist nuclear attack. The study was carried out by Ashton Carter and William Perry of the Preventive Defense⁶ Project of Harvard and Stanford Universities. It found that the U.S. government still has no comprehensive response plan for the day after a nuclear attack.

"Policymakers whom they [defense scholars] questioned in Washington, they found, continue to believe that state and local officials will be able to control the situation the day after a nuclear attack,” said Mr. Lieberman. “Yet [Ashton] Carter and [William] Perry argue that as the fiasco after Hurricane Katrina suggests, most cities and states will quickly be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the humanitarian⁷, law-and-order and logistical challenges of responding to a nuclear detonation⁸."

Lieberman and Republican Senator Susan Collins have called on the U.S. Government Accountability Office to investigate current national disaster-response plans, to make sure they are complete and well-understood.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

5 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

6 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。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 detonation   

n.爆炸；巨响

参考例句：

• A fearful detonation burst forth on the barricade.街垒传来一阵骇人的爆炸声。
• Within a few hundreds of microseconds,detonation is complete.在几百微秒之内，爆炸便完成了。