VOA慢速英语附字幕[翻译]：美国为下一超级风暴做准备工作 2014-07-02

U.S. Works to Protect Itself from Next Big Storm

Nearly two years have passed since Hurricane Sandy struck the Northeastern United States. Water levels rose almost four meters in some areas as the storm moved inland from the Atlantic Ocean. It caused major property damage along the Northeast coast.

Since then, the federal government has promised $920 million for a program to help plan for the next major storm. The program is called "Rebuild by Design." It is bringing together experts on water control from around the world, and is welcoming ideas from storm survivors.

Hurricane Sandy flooded New York City's famous underground train system, many streets and buildings. Thousands of people lost electricity, and 60 people died.

Now, a team of experts from 11 countries is working on six projects to limit damage from the next big storm.

Amy Chester is executive director of Rebuild by Design.

"The first part that's getting funded is the Lower East Side and that's East River Park. And they are looking at the park not only as a park, but a burm. So a burm would protect the community, but it also will create a space, create new space for recreation 365 days a year."

A project team called the "Big U" developed the plan to protect the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Hurricane Sandy flooded much of the area, displacing many families. The recovery is continuing.

Bjarke Ingels is a Danish architect who is working on the project.

"Think of it as a string of pearls that constantly changes shape and form and character. And for each part of the Big U, we've had intensive meetings with the local communities and they've told us what they wanted, which things they were missing, which things they were afraid of. Then we designed the flood barrier in a way that it also becomes pavilions for markets or different sort of public amenities."

Damaris Reyes is the executive director of a group called GOLES. Its name comes from the words Gold Old Lower East Side. Ms. Reyes says the Big U design team listened to what she and her neighbors had to say.

"They know that we were part of this broader coalition that was really representative of community folk and they came to us and asked to work with us."

The Big U project is the first link in a series of barriers that will protect almost 13 kilometers of the coastline -- from one side of the city to the other.

New York's Staten Island has plans for a fish hatchery -- a place where fish can safely grow before they are moved into the wild. Staten Island also has plans for a beach and a harbor school. Wetlands in New York and New Jersey will be improved to reduce the effect of a storm like Sandy.

Holly Licht is a government administrator who is working on the project. She says she looked all over the world for ideas.

"It's much more sophisticated in other parts of the world than it is here right now. So that element of people who have built real projects for resilience for other parts of the world and seeing what works and what hasn't worked as well, we wanted to tap into that experience and that knowledge base."

Completing the plans may not be the hardest part of the project -- the Rebuild by Design team will have to work with federal agencies, and city and state governments to get their approval to carry them out. I'm Jonathan Evans.

词汇解析

Atlantic

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

adj.大西洋的

n.大西洋

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

It took them several days to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

他们花了好几天的时间穿越大西洋。

用作名词 (n.)

He was the first airpilot to cross the Atlantic.

他是飞越大西洋的第一个飞行员。

property

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.财产;所有物;地产，房地产;性质;道具

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

But you do not have the right to initiate force against the life, liberty and property of others.

但是,你没有发起强占其他人生命,自由和所有物的权利。

He performed on a studio theatre, with bare stage bounded by black curtains and with no stage properties.

他在露天剧院表演,黑帷幕围着光秃秃的舞台,没有舞台道具。

federal

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

adj.联邦制的;联邦政府的;同盟的

n.联邦主义者;同盟盟友

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

Switzerland is a federal republic.

瑞士是联邦制的共和国。

Expenditures by the Federal Government have been steadily pared.

联邦政府的开支正在逐渐削减。

limit

难度：5星基本词汇，属常用1000词

英汉解释

n.限度;限制;界限

vt.限制;限定

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

Her ambition knows no limit.

她的野心没有限度。

用作及物动词 (vt.)

We must limit our spending.

我们必须限制我们的开支。

executive

难度：2星扩展词汇，属常用10000词

英汉解释

adj.行政的;决策的;经营的;[计算机]执行指令

n.行政主管;行政部门;决策者

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

He is on the executive committee.

他是该执行委员会委员。

用作名词 (n.)

An executive should be experienced in administration.

一个管理者应有行政管理的经验。

recovery

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

n.恢复;痊愈;复原;重获

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

A lot has been done in the recovery of national economy in the past few years.

在过去的几年中我们为了国民经济的恢复做了大量的工作。

Th woman was delighted at the recovery of her stolen jewels.

那位妇人对找回被盗的珠宝感到非常高兴。

barrier

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

n.栅栏;障碍物;屏障

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

Heavy duties on imports and exports are a barrier to international trade.

进出口的高关税是国际贸易的障碍。

The Sahara Desert is a natural barrier between north and central Africa.

撒哈拉沙漠是北非与中非之间的天然屏障。

community

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.社区;社会;公众;共同体;团体;共享;共有;[生]群落

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

Community colleges have become popular and their enrollments have increased rapidly.

社区大学日渐增多，报名人数迅速增长。

The political community is composed of a number of diverse economic and functional groups.

政治共同体由一系列在经济上和功能上不同的团体组成。