VOA标准英语2010-Schools Officially Reopen in Earthquake-R

Haitian schoolchildren, 05 Apr 2010

Children in Haiti are finally heading back to school, following the earthquake that struck the Caribbean nation on January 12. The Ministry¹ of Education announced just last week that all schools had to reopen on Monday, and school districts across the country have been scrambling² to meet the deadline.

At 8 o'clock on the dot Principal James Polot lines up his students for the start of the school day.

Like many schools around the world, the day begins by raising the flag to the national anthem³.  But this is no normal day.  For the students of the George Washington School in Port-au-Prince, it is the first day of school since the earthquake that devastated⁴ Haiti more than two months ago.

Principal Polot told us that the Ministry of Education has mandated⁵ that the curriculum during the first two weeks be about the earthquake.

He told us teachers will not only talk about quakes and aftershocks, but what to do when they happen because in Haiti an earthquake can strike at any time.

There also will be time for students to tell personal stories and about the traumas⁶ they have lived through.

Not all schools are ready to open.  The Republic of the United States High School was still under construction a few days before the scheduled opening. 

Architect and engineer Jocelyn Laurnt said he was probably a week or more from completion.  There has been a shortage of building materials in the country, especially wood.

At the Small Borders of Jesus School, students and teachers were happy to see one another after the long break.

Principal Roland Fils Duclervil said he has received no assistance or instructions from the Ministry of Education.  He said he heard about the school opening on the radio like everyone else. 

He told us there would be no classes today, just a chance for school personnel to meet and plan a course of action.

We walked through a neighborhood and saw many children not in school.

Daniella Marclen has two children.  She said she has no money to prepare their school uniforms, and has heard nothing from their school.

Officials acknowledge that with much of the country still in chaos⁷, there is no way of knowing how many schools can actually open, or if children will be able to attend.  Since the earthquake, starting anything in Haiti is a slow cumbersome⁸ process.  But for many of Haiti's school children, today was a fresh start. 

 

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

4 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。

5 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

6 traumas   

n.心灵创伤( trauma的名词复数 )；损伤；痛苦经历；挫折

参考例句：

• She felt exhausted after the traumas of recent weeks. 她经受了最近几个星期的痛苦之后感到精疲力竭。
• Conclusion: Safety lens of spectacles can protect the occurrence of ocular traumas. 结论：安全镜片可以预防眼镜碎片所致的眼外伤。 来自互联网

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

8 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。