VOA标准英语2010年-In Haiti, Faithful Gather for Mass at-英语课

时间：2019-02-05 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2010年(一月)

英语课

Drumbeats called the faithful to what is left of Port-au-Prince's main cathedral for a somber 1 Mass Sunday, the first since the devastating 2 earthquake. The Cathedral, once a symbol of hope for Haiti now lies in ruins and parishioners are vowing 3 to rebuild it again.

In the shadow of rubble 4 that once was the Cathedral of Port Au Prince, parishioners hold Sunday Mass six days after the earthquake that devastated 5 the city. During his homily, Father Marie Eric Toussant offered the assembled group of survivors 6 what little comfort he could. "We told them to live with faith and that God is there to help rebuild the country. And we must be sure of that," he said.

As he preached to the small gathering 7, across the city, rescuers continued to pull survivors from the rubble. The stench of death is still heavy in some places, bodies have been dumped along roads and in open spaces. The Pan American Health Organization says the death toll 8 is estimated at 50,000 to 100,000. But others say it is far closer to the latter figure. Tensions are running high, and there are reports of looting as people grow more desperate.

This Sunday, parishioners came to seek solace 9 from the misery 10 around them. The Cathedral was once a premier 11 landmark 12 of the city. The light on top of the tallest spire 13 so bright, ships at sea would use it to navigate 14.

The one constant here is the strength of Haitian people, who have a never ending desire to survive. Madame Edouard Thien is a member of the choir 15, who prayed in the Cathedral every day. "This is a situation we will never get used to," she said. But what we know is that we are the few that survived, and it is up to us to rebuild the country, so those who died did not die in vein," she told us.

Aid continues to trickle 16 in from all over the world. But not fast enough to meet the growing need. Many simply go without, and pray tomorrow will be better than today.

1 somber

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

2 devastating

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 vowing

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

4 rubble

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

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。

5 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