CARL AZUZ, CNN
ANCHOR: It`s April, 18, Good Friday for millions of people worldwide. Welcome
to CNN STUDENT NEWS. Ten minutes of commercial-free(無廣告) current
events(時事). Our first story today takes us to a Texas town
named West. Yesterday was exactly one year after an enormous explosion
destroyed a fertilizer plant(化肥廠) there.
That gives you a
sense of how powerful it was. It started with the fire, and while first
responders were fighting it, the explosion occurred. 15 people were killed. The
accident is still under investigation, but some effects on the landscape
remain. 120 homes were destroyed. Another 200 were damaged. The blast(爆炸)
registered as a magnitude 2.1(等級) earthquake, shaking houses 50 miles away. In a
town of about 2800 people, everyone in West was affected in some way. But
residents have started to rebuild. The process described as being brick by
brick, shingle(木瓦) by shingle, prayer(禱告) by
prayer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:
In West it is a new day. Street by street, block by block, house by house, the
town`s mayor Tommy Muska likes what he sees.
TOMMY MUSKA, WEST,
TEXAS MAYOR: It`s a smile on my face. And we lived with dumpsters(大型垃圾箱) for a
while. Dumpsters is progress. That humming is progress.??
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:
The town recently hired the same economic development consultants who helped
New Orleans and Galveston(加爾維斯敦) start over(重新開始) after Hurricanes Katrina and Ike. And for the
first time since the town`s darkest day last year, folks who live here are
beginning to ask a painful question: should a new fertilizer plant be built in
West?
MUSKA: That`s a hard pill(不得不做的苦事、苦藥丸). That`s
going to be a hard pill to swallow for some people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:
With the West plant gone, the mayor says farmers must travel up to 30 miles
away to get the fertilizer they need.
MUSKA: You know,
it`s a needed(adj. 需要的) industry. Somewhere in this area. Is it right
here in West? I don`t know. Will it be zoned where people won`t build around
it? Hopefully, hopefully we`ve learned the lesson there. Will it be safe? You bet(肯定、沒問題)!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:
While the mayor looks toward the future, he says he will never forget the 15 people
who lost their lives that day. Mostly first responders, some of who`ve
volunteered with him at the Fire Department. As we drove around town, Mayor
Muska spotted the two flags flying over the ambulance sheet. Someone lowered
them to half-staff(半旗) after the explosion and they`ve remained that
way ever since. The powerful symbol for the town.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Might seem hard to believe that(也許很難相信) in some areas what`s killing more Americans than
violent crime and car crashes is the illegal drug heroin and other opiate narcotics[nɑː'kɒtɪks](麻醉藥). These
are highly addictive drugs. They are easy to overdose on. They cause violent
withdrawal symptoms. Despite that, there`s been a recent surge in heroin use in
the U.S. Experts say one reason might be a nationwide crackdown(鎮壓) on prescription
painkillers. That`s leading addicts to turn to heroin. U.S. Attorney(律師) General
Eric Holder says the issue seemed to sneak up(悄悄的靠近) on government officials. That it used to be
thought of as a regional problem, until statistics showed it was nationwide.
Holder`s been criticized, though, for pushing for more lenient(寬鬆的)
treatment of non-violent drug offenders.
Tracking across the
United States, today`s CNN STUDENT NEWS Roll Call starts in the Tar Hill state.
We found some hawks(鷹) soaring over Kernersville, North Carolina. They
are online at Kernersville Middle School. (INAUDIBLE) from there will make
(INAUDIBLE) in Laurel, Mississippi, the Mustangs of West Jones High School are
watching from the Magnolia State. Mustangs will come up later today. And on the
West Coast, in Bakersfield, California, we are shouting out the bull dogs.
Great to see you at Golden Valley High School.
An underwater drone(水下無人機) has spent hours at the bottom of the Indian
Ocean scanning for wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. It disappeared last
month with 239 people aboard. No sign of it has been found. But if something
is, getting a view at a place without light where any quick movements could
stir up too much silt(淤泥) to see through will make a recovery very
difficult.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN
CORRESPONDENT: It is a pretty amazing scene. We are inside of a submersible(潛水艇). Now,
I`ll stress, not the kind of submersible that could go to the depths of, say,
where they believe the airliner is, but it`s a perfect way to demonstrate some
of the challenges as well as the abilities. If you take a look back here, let
me just demonstrate how extremely tight these quarters are. Our pilot has to
sit all the way directly behind us here in the dark, and he is the man in
control. He is guiding this vessel. Meanwhile, the two of us up here, Phil
Newton who is the expert on underwater recovery works. He`s been doing this for
decades, is going to show us how manipulating this arm at this depth of
retrieving a black box. It`s one we set out there, but it`s a way to give you a
good example of just how even in this murk(昏暗) that you can begin to evaluate the tricky
circumstances. So, Phil, if you would - we`ve already glassed it with the
mechanical arm that you`ve got here, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:
(INAUDIBLE) bring it over and get in the basket. Now it`s easy as one I suppose.
SAVIDGE: And so
there you can see the black box is going to be retrieved by the claw. It`s no
easy thing, just finding it in the gloom(黑暗), but
then the next step is it`s got to get into the basket because that is the way
it`s going to be transported to the surface. And again, we point out to you at
this step, it would be totally done. We are using very bright lighting up,
there`d been - even then you can see the gloom. On top of that(除此之外、更重要的是), manipulating
this arm is not as easy as using your own hand to try to grab something under
the water.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED
FEMALE: Time for "The Shoutout." What was the tallest building in the
world back in 1931? If you think you know it, shout it out! Was it, the Empire
State Building, Chrysler Building, Willis Tower, or Eiffel Tower. You`ve got
three seconds, go!
When the Empire
State Building was completed in 1931, it was the tallest manmade structure on
the planet. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.
So, no surprise
there was a ton of publicity(公眾) throughout its construction. And the Empire
State Building has been used in a number of publicity stunt(宣傳絕招).
Consider, if you will, a car company looking to generate a lot of buzz for a
new model. So much so, that it`s willing to cut it in the pieces, carry it up
86 floors and rebuild it outdoors on an observation deck.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN
CORRESPONDENT: Down there on the street is where cars are supposed to be, not
up here. 86 floors above New York City atop the Empire State Building. The out
of place 2015 Ford Mustang had tourists wondering.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:
The first thing was, how in the name of God did they get it up here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:
Maybe by the copter?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:
A helicopter or something?
UNIDENTIFIED
FEMALE: I throw (INAUDIBLE) the helicopter.
UNIDENTIFIED
FEMALE: It basically rode the elevator just like you and I did.
MOOS: Not just like
you or I. We wouldn`t have to get chopped up into pieces. The Mustang was cut
up into five pieces, small enough to fit in the smallest Empire State Building
elevator.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:
We only have an elevator that`s 36 inches wide.
MOOS: They actually
built a mock elevator back at the Ford shop to make sure everything would fit.
This wasn`t` the first time a Ford Mustang rode these elevators. Back in 1965
then newly introduced Mustang made the same trip and was photographed on the observatory(觀景台). This
latest elevation of the Mustang was meant to celebrate its 50th anniversary,
and weather, though, didn`t cooperate. Snowflakes were flying as they assembled
the Mustang high above Manhattan. It had to be done overnight when the
observation deck was closed. And the car had to be put together in a six hour
window. Here`s the process sped up. Despite the weather they met their deadline.
Ford wasn`t
actually first to raise a car in new heights, maybe they got the idea from
Chevy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:
Chevrolet 1964.
MOOS: They did use
a helicopter to lift car and model atop(在上面) this sandstone
tower in Utah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Getting the
car up there is certainly a tall order. With that Mustang, there was no room
for horsing around, but if you have the drive, you can afford to stunt your
building publicity. You`re really trying to give a brand a lift? Well, this can
be an ingenious(獨創性的) idea. But it`s a tight fit, and you must angle it
just right. I`m Carl Azuz. My shift is up. We are hitting the road back in the
driver seat on Monday.
END
