尽管遭受到了卡特里娜台风的破坏，新奥尔良仍然计划举行狂欢节

National Guardsmen have been giving out relief supplies for weeks outside this factory. Inside the buildings, people are also working on getting the city back to normal after the hurricane. Artisans are putting finishing touches on parade floats that will roll down the street during Mardi Gras 2006.

This is Mardi Gras World, started by Blaine Kern. For decades, his business has been building the largest and most elaborate floats for the famous parades. “We were three weeks ahead of schedule, but now we're two or three weeks behind,” said Mr. Kern. “But we’re going to make it up and give everybody a good show.”

Mardi Gras will be much shorter and smaller than usual. Before the hurricane, it was a billion dollar event, a mainstay of the tourist economy. Other cities around the world have a season of carnival before the Christian time of Penance in Lent. Here, the observance is seen as a celebration of life reflecting the soul of the city. Day by day, the French Quarter has been coming back to life, its hotels and business reopening. An estimated 125,000 to 150,000 people are in the city, far below its previous population of almost half a million. There are few takers for tours. Many people here are contractors and relief workers. 

At the Market Café, owner John Tsoupolis is remodeling. “I think by Mardi Gras, we hope -- I don’t know -- if we get 55 to 60 per cent, it’s going to make me feel good.” Arthur Hardy publishes a guide that explains the events in history of Mardi Gras. He predicts a depth of emotion for the observation this year. “Now, since it’s the recovery after the storms, I think it is going to be most like being in Times Square the first New Year’s Eve after 9/11,” Mr. Hardy told us.

Mardi Gras is organized and supported by private groups called krewes. Some of the krewes are unhappy that they will not be allowed to parade along their usual routes in now-destroyed neighborhoods. And, some displaced residents complain that this is no time for festivity at all. Bill Grace, who is on the Mayor’s Committee for Mardi Gras, disagrees. “One of the reasons we want to have Mardi Gras this year is to let the world know that New Orleans is back and open for business. That’s February 28th of 2006, so everyone should put that date down on their calendar and come on to the City of New Orleans for the New Orleans Mardi Gras in 2006.

数周来，国家警卫队一直在一家工厂外散发救济品。在工厂里面，人们在努力使这座遭受台风蹂躏的城市恢复到以前的样子。工匠们正在对游行花车做最后的修饰，这些花车将在2006年狂欢节上展出。

布莱因·克恩创办了“狂欢节世界”。这家工厂十年来一直在为这场世界闻名的游行建造精美的花车。克恩先生说，“我们以前比计划提前3周，但是现在我们却落后了2到3周。不过我们会完成它的，我们会给大家一个精彩的演出。”

与以往相比，今天的狂欢节规模要小，时间要短一些。在台风以前，狂欢节是耗费上亿美元的大型活动，是当地旅游经济的支柱。世界上的其他城市在四旬斋前都会有个狂欢节，而在这里，狂欢节是对生命的赞美，是对城市灵魂的反映。慢慢地，法国区（新奥尔良最著名的观光景点）会恢复它的生气，旅馆商店重新开业。目前城市中的居民有125,000到150,000人，远低于以前50万的人口，其中游人占的比例不高。这里的许多人都是承包商和救济人员。

在一家咖啡店里，店主约翰·梢谱利斯在进行装修。“我觉得在狂欢节期间，我希望－－我不知道能不能达到－－能有55％到60％的营业额，这样我就很满足了。”亚瑟·哈代出版了一本介绍狂欢节的历史的指南，他预测说，今年的狂欢节会带有浓重的感情色彩。“因为刚刚从台风中恢复过来，我认为这次的狂欢节会象9/11之后时代广场的新年庆典。”哈代先生告诉我们。

狂欢节是一个名叫“克鲁斯”的民间组织组织和支持的。一些克鲁斯成员不大高兴，因为他们不能在以前游行的路线上游行，而这条路线已经被破坏了。另外，一些转移的居民抱怨说现在根本没有时间来庆祝。比尔·格雷斯是市长委员会管理狂欢节事务的官员，他不同意这种看法。“我们今年举行狂欢节的原因之一是想让世界知道，新奥尔良回来了，又可以来做生意了。这是2006年2月28日，每个人都应该把这天记在他们的日历上，然后回到新奥尔良来参加2006年新奥尔良的狂欢节。”