VOA标准英语2008年-Bush Inspects Hurricane Damage, Promises Aid

U.S. President George Bush is getting a first hand look at the damage inflicted¹ on his home state of Texas by Hurricane Ike. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports that the president traveled Tuesday to areas hardest hit by the storm.
　
Marine² One, with President Bush aboard, during an aerial tour of the damage from Hurricane Ike near Galveston, Texas, Tuesday, 16 Sept. 2008

First in Houston, and then in Galveston, the president sought to console storm victims.

He said they face tough challenges, but he vowed³ that America's Gulf⁴ Coast will rebound⁵.

"It's a tough situation on the coast. I have been president long enough to see tough situations and the resilience of the people," Mr. Bush said.

But the path to recovery could be long and hard. It may take weeks before electricity is fully⁶ restored. Removing the tons of debris⁷ and repairing extensive flood damage will likely take much longer.

Houston remains⁸ under a nighttime curfew. And in Galveston - which was in the eye of the storm - there is still no power, no operating sewage system and no functioning hospital.

Most of the residents of the barrier island town heeded⁹ calls to evacuate¹⁰ before the storm. President Bush told them to stay away until it is safe to return.

"I know a lot of people are anxious to get back in. I urge you to listen to state and local authorities before you come back," he said.

Emergency officials briefed Mr. Bush on conditions immediately after his arrival in Texas, and he toured the disaster zones by helicopter.

He was told about the thousands of storm victims who remain in shelters, and efforts to keep up with the demand for blankets, food, bottled water and other basic supplies.

The American Red Cross is working with authorities in the Gulf. But after back-to-back hurricanes, it is running short on funds.

As he prepared to inspect the storm damage, the president made a direct appeal for contributions.

"I hope the country does not have disaster fatigue¹¹. The Red Cross is a vital part of helping¹² people recover," Mr. Bush said.

The American Red Cross has taken the unusual step of asking Congress for millions of dollars to replenish¹³ its disaster relief fund following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The Red Cross operates under a Congressional charter that requires it to respond to natural disasters. However, it is an independent charity and relies primarily on private donations.

 

1 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

4 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。

5 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 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。

8 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。

9 heeded   

v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She countered that her advice had not been heeded. 她反驳说她的建议未被重视。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I heeded my doctor's advice and stopped smoking. 我听从医生的劝告，把烟戒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

12 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。

13 replenish   

vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满

参考例句：

• I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
• We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。