2006年VOA标准英语-Probing the Government's Response to Katri
时间：2018-12-08 作者：英语课 分类：2006年VOA标准英语（一月）
By Peter Fedynsky
Washington, DC
26 January 2006
watch Katrina Response report
Hurricane Katrina rescue
Senators probing the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated 1 the city of New Orleans on other parts of America's Gulf 2 Coast, say the White House is refusing to cooperate in a congressional investigation 3 of the disaster. The inquiry 4 comes amid revelations that the administration was apparently 5 warned in advance that Katrina could breach 6 levees in New Orleans and leave the city under water.
------------------------------------------
After Hurricane Katrina, President Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said no one could have expected levees, or floodwalls, to fail in New Orleans.
President George W. Bush (file photo)
"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees," President Bush said.
"That perfect storm of combination of catastrophes 7 exceeded the foresight 8 of the planners and maybe anybody's foresight,” said Mr. Chertoff.
However, Mr. Chertoff's own planners apparently had such foresight because Homeland Security officials sent an e-mail to the White House warning about levee failure five hours before Katrina made landfall on August 29th.
At a news conference in Washington on Wednesday, the interim 9 president of the American Red Cross, Jack 10 McGuire, noted 11 that the media, including the largest newspaper in New Orleans, carried similar warnings.
Michael Chertoff (file photo)
"In 2002, the New Orleans Times-Picayune ran a five-part series describing problems with the levee system,” he said.
Senators investigating the government's response to Katrina say the White House is hampering 12 the inquiry by prohibiting administration officials from openly answering questions posed by lawmakers.
White House Spokesman Scott McClellan rejects the charge. "There are some 120 administration officials that been made available to the committees for interviews or for hearings; you have some 15,000 pages of documents that have been provided by the Executive Office of the President, some 240,000 pages provided by the Department of Defense 13 and some 300,000 pages provided by the Department of Homeland Security."
Jack McGuire
Meanwhile, American Red Cross President Jack McGuire says the proper role of government in emergencies should be to coordinate 14 and support public and private relief efforts. He adds that governments are not the only entities 15 that should be prepared for disaster, noting that private organizations, businesses, and individuals should also be ready.
"We are all more vulnerable than we need to be,” said McGuire. “All emergency plans assume that people will have the knowledge and supplies to take care of themselves for at least 72 hours after a disaster."
Mr. McGuire noted that most families do not have so much as a bottle of water or a first aid kit 16, much less a plan to deal with disaster.
- 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。
- The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
- There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。
- In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
- He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
- Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
- The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
- An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
- He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
- 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。
- Two of history's worst natural catastrophes occurred in 1970. 1970年发生了历史上最严重两次自然灾害。 来自辞典例句
- The Swiss deposits contain evidence of such catastrophes. 瑞士的遗址里还有这种灾难的证据。 来自辞典例句
- The failure is the result of our lack of foresight.这次失败是由于我们缺乏远虑而造成的。
- It required a statesman's foresight and sagacity to make the decision.作出这个决定需要政治家的远见卓识。
- The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
- It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。
- I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
- He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
- The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
- Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
- So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering growth. 因此在牛问题上和发展补助上的诈骗严重阻碍了发展。
- Short-termism, carbon-trading, disputing the science-are hampering the implementation of direct economically-led objectives. 短效主义，出售二氧化碳，进行科学辩论，这些都不利于实现以经济为主导的直接目标。
- The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
- The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
- You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
- Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。