CNN 2010-10-11

You want an example of something toxic¹? Take a look over my shoulder here. That red sludge spilled out of a reservoir at an aluminum² plant on Monday. This happened in the European nation of Hungary. This stuff is toxic. Around 250 people had to leave their homes. The spill is being blamed for the deaths of four people. Yesterday, the sludge reached the Danube, the second largest river in Europe. Nic Robertson takes us on a tour of one of the villages that this toxic sludge swept through.

This is Devescer. This is one of the villages affected³, and you can see where the red tide, the sludge got to. Right here, above, it's green. Further downhill, you've got the red sludge. And if you look over here right behind me, you can see these cleaning trucks going through the village, cleaning off the road, trying to keep the roads clean. But that's only a very small part of the cleaning process. As you come down the hill, further into the area that the red sludge, this toxic sludge hit, you can begin to see, you can see how the level rises against the side of the buildings over here. Everywhere you look in the village, the cleanup's going on. People coming out, gathering⁴ whatever possessions they can get. This stuff here looks like flooring from inside the house right here. And look at the line, the red tide, on the house here. It's way above me. This is how high the red, toxic sludge came through here. People literally ripping up their flooring, taking it out, trying to salvage whatever they can

1 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

2 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。