VOA慢速英语:Eastern United States Struggles to Recover from Huge Storm

短语讲解：

1. Sandy started as a tropical storm in the Caribbean, where it left at least sixty five people dead.

at least 至少
例句：At least two yeas of experience.
至少有两年的经验。

2. The storm caused damage up and down the coast, from North Carolina to Maine.

up and down 上上下下
例句：I went up and down in the air.
我在空中上上下下。

3. There were damage estimates of up to fifty billion dollars.

up to 直到
例句：Up to now he's been quiet.
他直到此刻仍保持沉默。

4. Those with phone or Internet service used websites like Twitter and Facebook to share how they were dealing with the storm, both good and bad

deal with 处理
例句：How do you deal with this problem?
你怎样处理这个问题？

5. Some people waited for hours in hopes of being able to buy gasoline.

be able to 能够
例句：We'll be able to smooth away these difficulties.
我们能够克服这些困难。

6. My instructions to the federal agencies has been: do not figure out why we can't do something, I want you to figure out how we do something.

figure out 算出
例句：I can figure out how much gold is underground.
我可以算出地下有多少金子。

7. I want you to cut through red tape, I want you to cut through bureaucracy.

cut through 穿过，挤进
例句：I usually cut through the park on my way home.
我在回家途中通常抄近路穿过公园.