CNN 2011-09-01

 The lights are up here on CNN Student News, but they’re out for millions of Americans on the East Coast. I’m Carl Azuz, reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. It only took a couple days for the storm to billow up the Eastern Seaboard, but it could be a long time before some places in its path get back to normal. Some hard numbers for you, 3 million, the number of Americans living without electricity; 700,000, an estimate of how many air travelers were ground because of the storm; billions, monetary¹ estimates for the damage caused. And here’s one reason for that.Look at these floodwaters in Vermont. This is the state that really took the brunt of the storm, with virtually every waterway it has flooded. State police captain says southern Vermont is pretty much shut down. State’s under what could be its worst flooding since 1927. Authorities here and in New Jersey² had warned that the flooding would get worse in the days after the storm. The problems for so many other folks, well, you can see it in these pictures. Some power lines fell in Irene’s gusty³ winds. Others were taken out by falling trees, some of those literally⁴ uprooted⁵ in the storm. Dozens of people died when Irene came through. Floods, falling trees, accidents, power lines, all of them to blame. Another danger in a hurricane is its storm surge. This is this wall of ocean water that a system blows in. It can affect any stretch of coastline, but it’s particularly threatening to barrier islands, like the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This is a thin strip of land, sitting between the state and the Atlantic Ocean. And because part of it was cut off, CNN’s Brian Todd had to take a helicopter to reach the area to file this report.

 

We did get some great aerial shots from our helicopter from the National Guard, as we went with them on a damage assessment⁶ mission around Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. And we saw flooded-out roads, entire flooded neighborhoods. One older home not only got hit with the hurricane, but caught on fire and burned down. Then we saw the reason why this place was cut off. This incredible breach⁷ on Highway 12, running north to south, that connects Hatteras Island to some of the other Outer Banks barrier islands, which then connects those islands to the mainland through causeways, but this section of Highway 12, incredible. It looked like an earthquake hit it. The road caved in, it was chopped up, there were power lines down. The Atlantic Ocean is now running over it, essentially⁸. I asked a local resident, Matthew Williams, just what people were thinking.

 

But what’s the philosophy? Why do, why do people like you stay through this? 

 

I don’t know. I guess it’s -- I don’t know, you know, we, we were, we grew up here. The main thing is getting back. You know, when you’re gone, you know, you’re wondering what, your belongings⁹, your property, you’re wondering how it is, you know. It’s your whole life here, so it’s kind of hard to leave. 

 

Now another resident told us that folks there have lived through stronger hurricanes, at least technically¹⁰ stronger, Category 2, 3 and even 4 hurricanes that they’ve stuck around for. But this same resident told us, even with that, he’s still never seen flooding like this. And they haven’t really had a breach on that highway since at least 2003, when Hurricane Isabel blew through. But that breach, we’re told, may be the most severe they’ve ever had.

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 gusty   

adj.起大风的

参考例句：

• Weather forecasts predict more hot weather,gusty winds and lightning strikes.天气预报预测高温、大风和雷电天气将继续。
• Why was Candlestick Park so windy and gusty? 埃德尔斯蒂克公园里为什么会有那么多的强劲阵风？

4 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

5 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

7 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

10 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。