时间:2018-12-19 作者:英语课 分类:VOA双语新闻 2011年7月


英语课

  It's nearly five months since the huge tsunami 1 struck northeast Japan, killing 2 over 20,000 people. The reconstruction 3 effort is well under way and the government has earmarked several billion dollars to help survivors 4 rebuild their homes and livelihoods 5. Many survivors say the financial assistance has been too slow.

巨大海啸侵袭日本东北部海岸,导致两万多人死亡的灾难,到现在已将近五个月了。灾后重建的工作正在顺利进行。日本政府也拨出相当于几十亿美元的经费,协助灾民重建家园。但是很多灾民抱怨,政府的财务支援来得太慢了。

Much left to be done in Sendai

On board one of the first scheduled flights into Sendai since the earthquake. The approach reveals a shoreline still bearing the scars of the tsunami.

地震灾害发生后,从首批抵达仙台机场的一架飞机中,记者可以看到海岸边灾后的伤痕累累。

Flattened 6 pine woods and flooded rice fields are littered with piles and piles of wreckage 7. But progress is being made.

在被大水冲倒的松树林中和淹没的稻田里,处处都是成堆的灾后残骸。

The airport has reopened less than five months after the wave hit - a physical and psychological link to the world.

不过,重建工作正在进行当中。仙台机场在海啸侵袭不到五个月之后就重新开放了。

In the Sendai suburb of Okada, just a couple of kilometers from the shore, Takahashi Masao is digging the garden outside his home - which somehow stayed standing 8.

在距离海边不过两公里的仙台市郊区冈田,一名当地的居民高桥雅夫,正在自己房屋外边的庭院挖掘。他的房子幸免于倒塌。

He remembers hearing the tsunami warning siren on March 11 - and running up to the second floor balcony.

高桥还记得,三月11日那天,他听见了海啸的警报后,跑到二楼的阳台上。

“When the earthquake struck I was wondering what would happen, how big the tsunami might be,” he says. “I was watching and watching. And then the wave came over those pine trees. ‘This is big,’ I thought,'” says Takahashi. “I realized it would soon reach my car parked down there. But there was nothing I could do. So I came up to the second floor and watched it all from here.”

高桥说:“当地震发生时,我还弄不清楚是怎么回事,这海啸究竟会有多大。”他说,“我一直看着,然后看见海浪淹没了松林,我想,这次可不小。”他说,“我知道海浪很快就会卷到我停在那边的车子。但是我已经无能为力。我只有上二楼注视这全部的情景。”

Much of the ground floor was gutted 9. Takahashi is slowly rebuilding, starting with the family shrine 10. There is much more expensive work to be done.

在他家的楼下,大部分物件都已被损毁。他只有慢慢修复。首先要从祖先的灵位着手。然后,还要做很多须要花钱的部分。

“Everyone says the money has been really slow,” he says. “Only 30 percent people affected 11 in Sendai have received money.”

高桥继续说:“每个人都说钱来得实在很慢。只有百分之30的仙台拿到了钱。”

“The government says this is a really massive disaster so people should understand it’s slow, but it’s very frustrating 12. If the government would say that here is not a good place to live, that you can’t live here, I wouldn’t fix this house, I would leave,” he says. “But the traffic signals are being fixed 13 just over there. So it seems like we can still live here. No-one knows.”

“政府说,这项灾害实在太大,恢复得慢,人民应该谅解。可是这种情形令人非常失望。如果政府早说这个地方不行了,你再也住不下去了,我就不必费劲修理这栋房子,我会搬走的。”他又说,“可是离这儿不远的交通讯号灯都已经修好了。看来这里还是可以住下去。谁知道呢。”

Reconstruction under way

Outside, engineers are also fixing the cell phone network. The water, gas and electricity have already been reconnected. The total cost of post-tsunami reconstruction is estimated to be near $300 billion.

屋子外面,工程人员正在修复手机网路设施。水电和天然气都接通了。全部海啸灾后重建的费用,估计将近三千亿美元。

The ancient Hama Kaido coast road used to be a summer escape route from Sendai city. Now it is choked with trucks carrying wreckage.

一条名叫熊野古道的海边道路,过去是从仙台过来的夏季避暑路线。如今沿途满是载运残留物的卡车。

With typical Japanese efficiency it is sorted into neat piles. Local authorities have set a recycling target of 50 percent.

由于日本人的办事效率,这些废料已经整齐地一堆堆排放着,当地政府设定了百分之50的回收目标。

The rest will be buried or burned in one of the three incinerators being built on former seaside parkland.

剩下的部分,将在附近三个焚化场掩埋或焚烧。

Mixed expectations for the future

In Miyagi Prefecture alone, authorities estimate they will collect around 18 million metric tons of debris 14.

仅仅宫城县一地,当地政府估计,将收集一千八百万公吨的垃圾。

In the shadow of the garbage dumps, Maeda Hiroko picks the weeds from her vegetable patch. She fears little will grow here because of the saltwater.

在成堆垃圾的阴影下,前田裕子在她的蔬菜园里捡拾海藻。她恐怕这里由于盐分的浸入,不能再种什么东西了。

“The government says people should move out from the whole area,” says Maeda. “But we have our house and land here. I believe everyone who still has something here, whose houses are at least still standing, will come back.”

她说:“政府说,居民应该迁出这整个地区,可是我们的房子和土地都在这里。我相信在这里还有一些东西的每个人,例如没有倒塌的房子,都会回来的。”

Such optimism is reflected across Japanese society - helping 15 to drive the reconstruction effort. Privately 16, many of the survivors still fear an uncertain future.

日本社会充满着这些乐观的态度。这个态度帮助日本进行重建的努力。但私下里,很多灾民仍旧对不可知的未来心存畏惧。



1 tsunami
n.海啸
  • 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。
2 killing
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
3 reconstruction
n.重建,再现,复原
  • The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后,该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
  • In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期,技术决定一切。
4 survivors
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 )
  • The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
  • survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者
5 livelihoods
生计,谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )
  • First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者,他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
  • With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小,他们的传统生计受到了威胁。
6 flattened
[医](水)平扁的,弄平的
  • She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
  • I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。
7 wreckage
n.(失事飞机等的)残骸,破坏,毁坏
  • They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
  • New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。
8 standing
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
9 gutted
adj.容易消化的v.毁坏(建筑物等)的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 );取出…的内脏
  • Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望?我是伤心透了!
  • The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
10 shrine
n.圣地,神龛,庙;v.将...置于神龛内,把...奉为神圣
  • The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
  • They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。
11 affected
adj.不自然的,假装的
  • 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。
12 frustrating
adj.产生挫折的,使人沮丧的,令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 );挫败;使受挫折;令人沮丧
  • It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间,真令人懊恼。
  • It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 fixed
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
14 debris
n.瓦砾堆,废墟,碎片
  • After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
  • Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上,导致蛀牙。
15 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
  • 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。
16 privately
adv.以私人的身份,悄悄地,私下地
  • Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
  • The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。
学英语单词
accelerene
air pump choke seat
akhbars
Allah's House
association of stars
backbending
bank guarantee
barfly
basilar cell
be remodeled from
boasty
bordeaux-type
cadmium acetylide
cammarano
cervicolabial
Cheeseman Town
chemical design institute
CIE standard illuminants
citokeratin
Clydevale
coating quantity
commercial zine
complex coordination test
conference on production
construction diversion
data line terminals
data storage device
defenestration
directional steadiness
doctors of musical arts
dot frequency
double shot moulding
drawing papers
drift stratigraphy
dry-humps
eagle-beak
electro optical
ex-sun
fast neutron exposure
fugitive flavo(u)r
gain-time
genus Seriphus
gomphosis
have no option but
healedmyocardial infarction
high line rig
high-lift slabbing mill
hydrofluoric aicd
HYSCAN
in line filter
insley
jet impactor
jizz
Jungingen
kasindorf
kid around
Klosterreichenbach
Kosovska Kamenica
leakage quantity
light refraction
mastoid branch
microfossil flora
microscope adapter
modification-independent workload model
mustard celery
near enough
Neolite
nine - eyes
not anymore
octofollin
offices of homeland security
Onavas
one at a time
palenthropic man
person injured
phlebotomus fly
president carters
pressure balanced workover rig
projective special linear group
rag-content paper
Raphiolepis gracilis
ratio of gains
regular spacing
roaches
Ryzdvyanyy
safety lamp
safety value
scooping up
self assembler
serologist
smokers' vertigo
speed and altitude supremacy
stubbliest
system specific address
taenicides
terminal hydroxyl group
tonalism
ungenerous
unharmonious
varelas
wedge angle
Zanthoxylum kwangsiense