超强台风“海燕”重创菲律宾

 　  超强台风“海燕”重创菲律宾　

      A powerful typhoon that caused massive destruction and hundreds of deaths in the Philippines is now churning towards Vietnam.

　　Weather forecasters say Typhoon Haiyan could make landfall in the country on Sunday.

　　Vietnamese authorities have evacuated¹ several hundred thousand people from coastal² areas, where the storm's outer bands are already causing high winds and rough seas.

　　In the Philippines, Super Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, made landfall Friday as one of the most powerful storms on record, with maximum sustained winds of about 300 kilometers an hour, sending waves up to five meters high crashing through island communities.

　　Officials say 138 people are confirmed dead, but the Philippine Red Cross says the actual death toll³ may be more than 1,200.  Rescuers are sifting⁴ through rubble⁵ to try to reach victims.

　　Relief workers estimated that many of the dead are on the hard-hit island of Leyte.

　　Philippine interior secretary Mar⁶ Roxas says it is difficult to describe the extent of damage in Leyte's capital, Tacloban.

　　"The devastation⁷ is — I do not have the words for it. It is really horrific. It is a great human tragedy. There is no power. There is no light."

　　On Saturday, Tacloban residents wept as they recounted losing loved ones. Others appeared dazed. Bodies lay in the streets, covered in sheets and bags. People also began looting stores, looking for food to survive or carrying away household appliances.

　　U.N. emergency relief coordinator⁸ Valerie Amos said a U.N. disaster and assessment⁹ team that had been deployed¹⁰ to Tacloban found "scenes of total devastation." It said roads from the airport to the city of 200,000 people were impassable, leaving helicopters as the only means of travel.

　　The U.N. team leader Sebastian Rhodes Stampa said the last time he saw destruction on such a scale was in the aftermath of the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami¹¹.

　　Separately, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon offered his condolences to the Philippines, saying he was deeply saddened by the "extensive loss of life."

　　A U.S. relief team has been deployed to the region. The U.S. Agency for International Development says the team will conduct damage assessments¹², track conditions and "advise on additional needs."

　　The U.S. has also made $100,000 available for relief supplies, and the World Food Program is providing emergency assistance to government agencies that are helping¹³ victims.

　　Typhoon Haiyan weakened after crossing the Philippines but regained¹⁴ some strength as it began moving westward¹⁵ over the South China Sea toward Vietnam.

　　Haiyan's new projected path also puts the southern Chinese island of Hainan at risk of strong winds and heavy rain. The Chinese government issued an alert to local authorities to prepare for flooding and called fishing boats back to port.

1 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

2 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 sifting   

n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• He lay on the beach, sifting the sand through his fingers. 他躺在沙滩上用手筛砂子玩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was sifting the cinders when she came in. 她进来时，我正在筛煤渣。 来自辞典例句

5 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

6 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

7 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

9 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

10 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

11 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

12 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

15 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。