VOA标准英语2010年-Obama Enlists Bush, Clinton to Help Ha

Former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are joining with President Barack Obama to aid the earthquake-stricken people of Haiti. The two former presidents returned to the White House to discuss what they and the American people can do to help.  

President Obama says the Haitian earthquake relief effort will not be measured in days or weeks, but in months and even years. 

Mr. Obama stood between his two predecessors¹ Saturday and said they have answered his call to coordinate² efforts to involve more Americans in helping³ Haiti recover and rebuild.

"Presidents Bush and Clinton will help the American people to do their part, because responding to a disaster must be the work of all of us.  Indeed, those wrenching⁴ scenes of devastation⁵ remind us not only of our common humanity, but also of our common responsibilities," he said.

The president says by coming together, Mr. Bush, a Republican, and Mr. Clinton, a Democrat⁶, send an unmistakable message that the U.S. stands united with the people of Haiti.

"As the scope of the destruction became apparent, I spoke⁷ to each of these gentlemen, and they each asked the same simple question, 'How can I help?'.  In the days ahead they will be asking everyone what they can do," he said.

Mr. Bush says the main thing Americans can do is to send money, rather than other forms of assistance.  The two former presidents have started the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, which is accepting donations online.  Mr. Bush promised that he and Mr. Clinton will see that the money is spent wisely.

"We have all seen that, first hand, when Americans responded to the tsunami⁸ or to Katrina, or the earthquake in Pakistan.  And President Clinton and I are going to work to tap that same spirit of giving to help our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean," he said.

Mr. Clinton says this cause has great personal meaning for him.  He is the United Nations special envoy⁹ to Haiti.  And as president in 1994, he sent U.S. troops there to restore democratically elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who had been ousted¹⁰ in a military coup¹¹.

"I was in those hotels that collapsed¹².  I had meals with people who are dead.  The cathedral church that Hillary and I sat in 34 years ago is a total rubble¹³.  But what these men have said is true.  It is still one of the most remarkable¹⁴, unique places I have ever been.  And they can escape their history and build a better future if we do our part," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Clinton's wife, Secretary of State  Hillary Clinton, arrived in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, Saturday.  After meeting with Haiti's president, Rene Preval, she offered the administration's support to the Haitian people.

"As President Obama has said, we will be here today, tomorrow and for the time ahead," she said.

Massive relief efforts from the U.S., other countries and the United Nations are arriving in Haiti.  But distribution is being slowed by congestion¹⁵ at the Port-au-Prince airport, rubble-filled streets and security problems.
 

1 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

3 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。

4 wrenching   

n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• China has been through a wrenching series of changes and experiments. 中国经历了一系列艰苦的变革和试验。 来自辞典例句
• A cold gust swept across her exposed breast, wrenching her back to reality. 一股寒气打击她的敞开的胸膛，把她从梦幻的境地中带了回来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

5 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

9 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

10 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

11 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

12 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

13 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

14 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

15 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。