CNN 2010-05-08

A lot of landmarks¹ right now in Nashville under water. Let’s start with the good news though. The good news is, Brooke, that the Cumberland River has crested² and is on the way down. They hopes it’s gonna be back in these banks within the next 24 hours. This is Second Avenue in the Downtown Nashville. The name would imply there should be another two blocks before you get to the river. That’s not the case today. However, as we say, the picture is improving but the toll³ has been incredibly high, 18 people have died in the state of Tennessee alone, ten of them in Davidson County that includes the city of Nashville. Right now, they know that the cleanup is gonna take a long time and cost a lot of money.

Nashville residents say there was almost no time to prepare for the deadly deluge⁴.

'I’ve been down here 40 years. Never saw it like this.'

Since the weekend, a small navy of emergency responders and volunteers have ferried stunned⁵ survivors⁶ to safety.

'It almost kinda gives you reminiscent of Katrina, something like that. And you think, well, it can’t happen here, well it has.'

It happened because a record 13 inches of rain fell on the city in just two days. The Cumberland River and other waterways rose faster than most people could imagine, trapping even a local pastor⁷ Sunday morning.

'We were getting ready for church, to go to church and by the time we got out, the water had risen to our porch. The neighbors actually had to form a chain, because the current was coming through each house.'

If the images underground were frightening, from the air, they were staggering. Murky⁸ brown water grows to roof tops and lapped around the high-rises. It even threatened the LP Field, home to the NFL Tennessee Titans. The Cumberland River has risen above 50 feet. The last time that happened was in the 1960s. Nashville’s mayor and Tennessee’s governor flew over the flooding and seemed taken aback.

1 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

2 crested   

adj.有顶饰的，有纹章的，有冠毛的v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的过去式和过去分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• a great crested grebe 凤头䴙䴘
• The stately mansion crested the hill. 庄严的大厦位于山顶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

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 deluge   

n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥

参考例句：

• This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候，这条小溪能变作洪流。
• I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。

5 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

8 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。