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

This week, a huge storm named Sandy brought death and destruction to Caribbean countries and the eastern United States. Sandy started as a tropical storm in the Caribbean, where it left at least sixty five people dead.
本周，飓风桑迪给加勒比海岸国家和美国东部带来了死亡和破坏。桑迪起于加勒比海的热带风暴，目前已夺走至少65个生命。

Sandy’s next target was the eastern United States. The storm caused damage up and down the coast, from North Carolina to Maine. There were damage estimates of up to fifty billion dollars.
桑迪的下一个目标是美国东部，从北卡罗来纳到缅因州的海岸线，风暴带来了破坏损失高达550亿美元。

American officials have blamed Sandy for at least ninety deaths. Police say at least fifty-nine of the victims were in New Jersey and New York. The number will most likely increase as rescue workers find more bodies.
美国官员称桑迪导致至少90人死亡，警方称新泽西和纽约至少有59名遇难者，随着救援人员发现更多遗体，这个数字还会上升。

On Friday, New York’s main power company said it hopes to return power throughout Manhattan island by Saturday.
周五，纽约主要电力公司称希望在周六之前恢复整个曼哈顿岛的电力。

The storm also affected telephone service. As a result, many New Yorkers witnessed a rare event -- people standing in line to use pay phones on the street.
风暴还影响了电话服务，许多纽约人都目睹了罕见的一幕：大街上人们排队用付费电话。

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. Some government agencies used Twitter to keep people informed on the storm and recovery efforts.
人们用电话或网络在Twitter和Facebook上分享应对风暴的信息，无论好的还是坏的。一些政府机构使用Twitter告知人们风暴信息和恢复措施。

New Jersey appeared to suffer the most damage. Workers in Hoboken are pumping millions of liters of polluted water from the city’s streets. Tens of thousands of people lost their homes and belongings in coastal areas of the state.
新泽西遭受的损失显然最严重，霍博肯的工人正在抽取大街上数百万升的污水，该州沿海数万人失去家园和财产。

Widespread fuel shortages are reported in both New Jersey and New York. Some people waited for hours in hopes of being able to buy gasoline. The long lines increased tensions and led to fights. Some gas stations refused to open without police protection. One driver, Betty Bethea, explains.
据悉新泽西和纽约都遭受大范围的颜料短缺，有的人等了数小时来买汽油，排队的长龙加剧了紧张气氛，还导致打架斗殴。有的加油站拒绝在没有警察保护的情况下开放。司机Betty Bethea解释说：

"It's terrible. You can't even get there. The police have blocked everything off. You cannot get no gas. Everywhere I went the police said 'no gas.'"
“太可怕了，根本过不去。警察把各个地方都封锁了，没办法得到汽油，我所去的地方警察都说‘没有汽油。’”

The storm forced New York City to close its popular subway system. Many underground areas were flooded and have not been cleared of water. On Thursday, the subway re-opened with limited service. But it could be weeks before all the trains are running again.
风暴迫使纽约市关闭最大众的地铁系统，许多地下区域洪水泛滥，积水没有被清理出来。周四，地铁开放了部分服务。但数周后铁路才能完全运营。

The storm also closed the New York Stock Exchange for two days.
风暴还导致纽约证券交易所关闭了两天。

President Obama ordered the military to assist with the recovery efforts. He approved disaster declarations for New York and New Jersey, freeing up federal aid to help with property damage.
总统奥巴马命令军队援助恢复工作，他签发了纽约和新泽西灾难声明，提供联邦援助对财产损失提供帮助。

"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. I want you to cut through red tape, I want you to cut through bureaucracy. There's no excuse for inaction at this point."
“我对联邦机构的指示是：不要想着我们不能做什么，希望你们知道如何做某事。我希望你们摒弃繁琐手续和官僚主义，此时我们没有理由不作为。”

The president suspended his election campaign for part of this week so that he could deal with Sandy.
总统暂停了本周的部分竞选活动，这样就有时间对付桑迪。

This week, Mr. Obama went to New Jersey to witness the damage. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a supporter of candidate Mitt Romney, praised Mr. Obama for his efforts.
本周，奥巴马到新泽西视察破坏情况，新泽西州长克里斯•克里斯蒂是候选人罗姆尼的支持者，他赞扬了奥巴马的行为。

On Tuesday, Mr. Romney changed one of his campaign events to raise money for victims of Sandy. He also suspended campaign events and has urged Americans to help with the recovery effort.
周二，罗姆尼改变了他的一次竞选活动，为桑迪受害者募集资金。他也暂停了竞选活动，并督促美国人为恢复措施提供帮助。

 "I appreciate your generosity, it is part of the American spirit, the American way to give to people who are in need."
“我很感激您的慷慨，这是扶危济困的美国精神和美国人一贯做法的一部分。”

 The presidential race continues to be close. It is not clear if or how Sandy will influence the vote.
总统竞选仍然旗鼓相当。尚不清楚桑迪是否会或如何对投票造成影响。