听美文故事记6级单词03-04

Earthquake Jolts¹ Tokyo from bed’

An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale shook the Tokyo area before dawn, jolting² many residents out of bed and causing minor³ injuries to at least 19 people.

The quake registered at 4:46 am with the epicenter in Ibaraki prefecture about 130 kilometers northeast of Tokyo with a focus 40 kilometers underground, the meteorological agency said.

Part of the Japan Railways Joban line to the northeast of Tokyo and a section of a highway in the Joban region were shut down as precautions as inspectors⁴ looked to see if they sustained damage.

At least 19 people were lightly injured when they fell out of bed or were hit by falling objects such as a television and a stereo speaker, according to a roundup of local authorities by public broadcaster NHK.

Police said they had not heard of any life-threatening injuries.

The impact was powerful enough to shake buildings in central Tokyo, waking up many residents, in a reminder⁵ of how prone⁶ the Japanese capital is to earthquakes.

A government study published in December found it likely that the city of 12.5 million would be hit by a major earthquake within the next 30 years that would leave up to 13,000 dead and disrupt the lives of millions.

Japan, which lies at the crossing of four tectonic plates, endures about 20 percent of the world's powerful earthquakes, frequently jolting Tokyo and other major cities where buildings are made to be tremor⁷ resistant⁸.

On October 23, an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale and striking only 13 kilometers underground rocked the central Niigata region, killing⁹ 40 people.

It was the deadliest quake in Japan since January 17, 1995, when 6,433 people died after a pre-dawn tremor in the western city of Kobe.

The Kobe quake was the most devastating¹⁰ in modern times to hit a city in the developed world. The 10th anniversary last month was marked in the rebuilt city by a UN conference on how to reduce the risks of disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis¹¹ of the type that battered¹² the Indian Ocean in December.

In autumn, nearly one million Japanese took part in earthquake preparation drills to mark another anniversary -- that of the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake which devastated¹³ the Tokyo region leaving 142,807 people dead or unaccounted for.

地震将东京从睡梦中摇醒

一场里氏5.4级的地震在拂晓之前震动了东京地区，剧烈的晃动把许多居民从床上摔了下来，造成至少19人受轻伤。

日本气象厅表示，地震发生在（2月16日）清晨4时46分。震中位于东京东北方向约130公里处的茨城县，震源位于地下40公里处。

通往东京东北部的部分常磐铁路干线和常磐地区的一段高速公路被预先关闭了，因为道路巡视员担心它们无法承受此次破坏。

据当地权威的日本广播协会新闻简报称，至少有19人受了轻伤，他们或是从床上跌落时摔伤，或是被掉下的电视机、音箱等物体砸伤。

警方表示他们还没有听说危及生命的伤亡事故。

此次地震的威力足以让东京市中心的建筑物有震感，惊醒了许多居民，它提醒人们日本的首都是多么容易发生地震。

去年12月公布的一份政府研究报告发现，东京这个拥有1250万人口的城市将在今后30年里遭遇一次大的地震袭击，将造成超过1万3千人死亡，使数百万人的生活陷入混乱。

日本位于地壳四大板块的交会点上，受世界上20%的强烈地震的影响。地震频繁侵扰东京和其他几个主要城市，那里的建筑物都被设计为抗震型的。

去年10月23日，一场发生在地面以下仅13公里处的里氏6.8级地震袭击了日本新滹市中心，造成40人丧生。

那是自1995年1月17日以来日本发生的最致命的地震。在95年的大地震中，西部城市神户有6433人在黎明前的震动中丧生。

在当代发达国家城市遭受的侵袭中，神户地震的破坏性最大。上个月，联合国在这座重建于废墟之上的城市举行了神户大地震十周年纪念会议，会议的主题是如何减少灾难发生的风险，例如地震和类似12月袭击印度洋海域的海啸等。

去年秋季，近100万日本人参与了地震防备演习，来纪念另一次灾难——1923年的关东大地震几乎摧毁了整个东京地区，造成142807人死亡或失踪。

1 jolts   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He found that out when he got a few terrific jolts, but he wouldn't give up. 被狠狠地撞回来几次后，他发觉了这一点，但他决不因此罢休。
• Some power bars are loaded with carbohydrates or caffeine for quick jolts. 有些能量条中包含大量的碳水化合物和咖啡因，以达到快速提神的效果。

2 jolting   

adj.令人震惊的

参考例句：

• 'she should be all right from the plane's jolting by now. “飞机震荡应该过了。
• This is perhaps the most jolting comment of all. 这恐怕是最令人震惊的评论。

3 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

4 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

6 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

7 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

8 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

11 tsunamis   

n.海啸( tsunami的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our oceans are alive with earthquakes, volcanoes, and more recently, tsunamis. 海中充满着地震、火山，包括最近发生的海啸。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• Please tell me something more about tsunamis! 请您给我讲讲海啸吧！ 来自辞典例句

12 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

13 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。