Because the feeling of a crisis fades so quickly, it’s worth recalling that for the whole week of the hurricane most people in the city had no access to official help. The emergency numbers didn’t work. There was no obvious person in charge, and no obvious plan being carried out. If you were lucky enough to have Internet access, you were more likely to find useful information—about, for example, which parts of the city were dry, or where drinking water was available—on blogs than on any government site. People who could find their way to institutional protection seemed almost worse off than people individually trapped, subjected as they were to violence, disease, starvation, overcrowding, and lies. It was unbelievable that it could take so long to get supplies in and people out, and to restore public safety, and to fix the levees. Even to have a person who could project calm and hope, and who could offer useful, reliable counsel would have been a gift from above—but that the emergence of such a person seemed so completely out of the question demonstrates an unimaginable failure at all levels. If national officials are incapable of rising to the occasion, the responsibility and duty of local officials goes beyond simply pointing that out.
热心网友
Because the feeling of a crisis fades so quickly, it’s worth recalling that for the whole week of the hurricane most people in the city had no access to official help。由于危机意识的迅速消退，大多数人在飓风侵袭的一周中得不到政府资助一事值得重提。The emergency numbers didn’t work。 There was no obvious person in charge, and no obvious plan being carried out。 If you were lucky enough to have Internet access, you were more likely to find useful information—about, for example, which parts of the city were dry, or where drinking water was available—on blogs than on any government site。 许多紧急措施预案未能启动。没有明确的负责人，没有明确的救灾计划出台。假如，你极其幸运可以使用互联网，你就可能得到更多的有关救助信息——例如，城市中何处未被水淹，那里可供应食用水——民间网上多于任何一个政府网站的信息。People who could find their way to institutional protection seemed almost worse off than people individually trapped, subjected as they were to violence, disease, starvation, overcrowding, and lies。 It was unbelievable that it could take so long to get supplies in and people out, and to restore public safety, and to fix the levees。 能够集中起来逃难的人似乎比那些单独行动的情况更加恶劣，他们受到如暴力、疾病、饥饿、拥挤逼迫以及谎言的威胁。真难以置信，获得些救济，将群众撤出，恢复公共安全和修复防洪堤坝需要如此长的时间。Even to have a person who could project calm and hope, and who could offer useful, reliable counsel would have been a gift from above—but that the emergence of such a person seemed so completely out of the question demonstrates an unimaginable failure at all levels。 If national officials are incapable of rising to the occasion, the responsibility and duty of local officials goes beyond simply pointing that out。当时，只要有个人能够提出可以安抚和期待的计划，能够提出实际的、可靠的忠告，在上述情况下,也算是个可慰籍的礼包——然而，急需的这样一个人似乎完全不成问题，事实证实在各个层面上出现了不可思议的疏忽。如果，国家的高官们对此无能为力的话，那么,地方官员们连指点一下这起码的责任和义务都在其能力之外吗。应该按楼下意见修改!。
热心网友
but that the emergence of such a person seemed so completely out of the question demonstrates an unimaginable failure at all levels.但这样一个人的出现似乎完全不可能，这证明了在各个层次上出现了不可思议的疏忽。