VOA标准英语2011--Thai Flood Victims Face Challenges Returning Home

Thai Flood Victims Face Challenges Returning Home

 

Thailand’s historic floods are now slowly receding¹. But in Bangkok, scores of evacuees² are reluctant to go home. As the government discusses how to compensate³ flood victims for their losses, residents who are facing the task of rebuilding their lives speak out.

At the height of the floods, the Chaeng Wattana evacuation center in Thailand’s capital housed over 3,800 people. Many are now going home.

In drier times, Det is a volunteer coordinator⁴ for Bangkok youth groups. In recent weeks, though, he has been working here, helping⁵ evacuees.

“Some people have gone home only to find that there’s still water in their area. The water is stinky, and they have no money or equipment, and so they came back here and asked if they could stay a while longer,” said Det.

After a month of sleeping on a tile floor, 49 year-old Sunan Jitsawang has made the decision to return home. The 15-kilometer journey takes two hours in a specially⁶ outfitted⁷ bus capable of driving through the deep water.

A man smokes a cigarette outside his flooded home in a slum just outside Bangkok, Thailand, November 21, 2011.

Just outside her house, drainage pumps are working around the clock. Although water has receded⁸ by one meter in her Bangkok suburb Rangsit, it still has a long way to go. Her 10-person household includes her elderly mother, who has been suffering from severe asthma⁹ and back problems.

“I don't know about the future because I have not had time to think about it that much. My main concern is about money. Very few members of my family are working and I don’t know where I’m going to get all the money to repair the house,” said Sunan.

Thailand's costliest¹⁰ floods so far have totaled at least $320 million. Many neighborhoods have been flooded for weeks, the stagnant¹¹ water mixing with sewage and trash. Insurers are still tallying¹² the damage.

"Basically, as far as we can guess of the almost 20 million houses around Bangkok and in central Thailand which were affected¹³ by this flood, only about less than one percent are insured for flood, and mostly have no coverage¹⁴ for flood," said Jeerapan Assavathanakul, with the General Insurance Association.

Sunan said she would have just stayed in her flooded home had her mother not been ill, and she's eager to get her life back together.

“We will not claim much for insurance - just help to replace things that were lost like beds and cabinets. Right now we are sleeping on the floor, and there are snakes and centipedes,” she said.

Now that Thailand's flood victims are returning home, many may find that the ordeal¹⁵ of moving on has only just begun.

1 receding   

v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• Desperately he struck out after the receding lights of the yacht. 游艇的灯光渐去渐远，他拼命划水追赶。 来自辞典例句
• Sounds produced by vehicles receding from us seem lower-pitched than usual. 渐渐远离我们的运载工具发出的声似乎比平常的音调低。 来自辞典例句

2 evacuees   

n.被疏散者( evacuee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Moreover, for multi-exits, evacuees select a exit based on game theory. 在有多个出口时，疏散人员根据对策论选择出口。 来自互联网
• Evacuees wade through flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar on Saturday, July 31, 2010. 撤离灾区涉水通过后在白沙瓦沉重的季风降雨在周六，2010年7月31日。 来自互联网

3 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

4 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

5 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。

6 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

7 outfitted   

v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They outfitted for the long journey. 他们为远途旅行准备装束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They outfitted him with artificial legs. 他们为他安了假腿。 来自辞典例句

8 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

9 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

10 costliest   

adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失，是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
• Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰？克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网

11 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

12 tallying   

v.计算，清点( tally的现在分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• In 2007 the state set a U.S. record, tallying 141 twisters. 该州在2007年以总计出现了141个龙卷风而创下了一个美国记录。 来自互联网
• We charge extra fee at 100% of the rates of tallying fees. 我们按理货收费率的100%收取附加费。 来自互联网

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

15 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。