美国有线新闻 CNN 2014-05-06

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Parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee were raked by suspected tornadoes¹. The storms killed at least 17 people in those 3 states. In addition to those who died in the Central U.S. earlier this week, in Louisville, a logging town in east Mississippi the damage from twisters was severe. Same thing in Tupelo, in the northeastern part of the state. A newspaper reporter there said some buildings were just wiped away. A woman whose home was destroyed said that it hurts to look and not be able to come home, but she was grateful that her dog survived and wasn't hurt.

 

Forecasters are getting better at predicting these storms, sometimes as much as a day in advance. Communications are also improving, radio warnings, newscasts, social media posts are all helping² save lives. But not everyone has a safe place to go to, like an underground basement or a hardened safe room. So challenges remain.

 

From my experiences, it's the worst that I've experienced, but again, we just have to make it happen, and that's the IOC's approach.

 

We haven³'t had to, as an IOC, send people in like this before, we've been struggling to get them to understand the problem. Test events are starting this year, and yet in the test event department, these two people working.

 

Ok, that was the vice⁴ president of the International Olympic Committee, the IOC. He is saying that Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is way behind in preparing for the 2016 Olympic Games. Any city planning to host the Olympics is subject to scrutiny⁵. Will construction be done on time, will the area be safe? We heard concerns about Sochi, London, Beijing and now Rio. But the IOC says it's having to take a more hands-on approach this time around. There have been delays, communications problems, skyrocketing costs, and Rio is hosting the World Cup Soccer Tournament this summer, that it's been preparing for that too. The city's mayor there's no reason for concern about the Olympics. And Rio organizers say Brazil is spending almost 11 billion dollars to make sure everything comes together. This will be the first Olympics ever held in South America. 

 

As Rio scrambles⁶ to prepare and reassure⁷ future tourists that it's worth the trip, a Mexican city is working to lure⁸ tourists back. We are taking you to Puerto Vallarta, a resort in Mexico's Pacific coast, a haven for fishing, golf and sunbathing⁹. It's been hit by recession, sickness and concerns about the Mexican drug war, but it says that violence is hundreds of miles away. 

 

Where they are parasailing over the Pacific Ocean, or taking a tour on a historic ship on a beautiful afternoon, or dancing through the night at a trendy dance club. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, seems to always be in a party mood.

 

And we are not just a another beach town.

 

Carlos Gerard-Guzman is a tourism director in Puerto Vallarta, a beach resort on the Mexican Pacific coast. His job is to revitalize an industry that was old but dead. Five years ago, drug violence throughout Mexico has driven away many tourists and then in 2009 an influenza¹⁰ scare made a bad situation even worse. 

 

We were basically paralyzed like almost three months with no guests, no cruise ships in three month. And then the &* no flights, peopele were afraid to fly. 

 

Many hotels laid off employees and kept the skeleton staff, some businesses closed down, and many wondered whether tourists would ever come back. Recovery has been slow but promising¹¹ thanks to significant investments in promotion¹² in Mexico and abroad. New or renovated¹³ infrastructure¹⁴ like this 2.4 million-dollar pier¹⁵ is also part of the plan.

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