The shock1 of superstorm2
Sandy exposed3
problems in New York and other areas hard
hit by4 the storm. Sandy struck5 the northeastern6
United States in October leaving7
hundreds of thousands8
of people without electricity9.
Officials blamed10 Sandy for over11 100 deaths12
and more than $50 billion in property
damage13. The storm left14
about15 8 million
people without power for days. This included nearly16 5 million people in New York State and
New Jersey. Sandy flooded16
parts of New York City's subway18
system, and it affected19
other transportation.
It delayed20
fuel trucks21,
resulting in long lines22
at gasoline stations23.
New York Governor24
Andrew Cuomo said superstorm Sandy showed there
were25 problems with New York's infrastructure. He said the failure26 of the
city's public utility system is of real concern27.
He said the systems were built28 at different times29
and some need to be upgraded. The storm has led to calls30 for power companies to bury31 more
electrical lines underground32.
But, at least33
one expert34 says,
that did not help New York.
Otto Lynch is with Power Line Systems
in Wisconsin. He said New York lost
power35 because power lines were underground. He said that means36 problems are harder to find37.
Otto Lynch is also38 a member of America's Infrastructure
Committee at the American Society of Civil
Engineers3. The group released40
its last report41
on the nation's infrastructure in 2009. He said the report gave an average grade42 of D, a very low43 grade, to all
of America's infrastructure. For VOA Learning English, I'm Mario
Vocabulary
1. Shock = choque
2. Superstorm = supertempestade
3. Exposed = expôs
4. hard hit by = duramente atingido por
5. struck = atingiu, atacou
6. northeastern = parte do norte
7. leaving = deixando
8. hundreds of thousands = centenas de milhares
9. without electricity = sem eletricidade
10. blamed = culparam
11. over = mais de, acima de
12. deaths = mortes
13. property damage = danos a propriedades
14. left = deixou
15. about = aproximadamente
16. nearly = quase
17. flooded = inundou
18. subway = metrô
19. affected = afetou
20. delayed = atrasou
21. fuel trucks = caminhões de combustível
22. lines = filas
23. gasoline stations = postos de gasolina
24. Governor = governador
25. there were = houve
26. failure = falha
27. concern = preocupação
28. were built = foram construídos
29. at different times = em épocas diferentes
30. calls = chamadas telefônicas
31. bury = enterrar
32. underground = subterrâneo
33. at least = pelo menos
34. expert = especialista
35. lost power = perdeu energia
36. means = significa
37. harder to find = mais dificeis de encontrar
38. also = também
39. Civil Engineers = Engenheiros civis
40. Released = lançou
41. Report = relatorio
42. gave an average grade = deu uma nota média
43. low = baixo