VOA慢速英语2016 斯里兰卡山体滑坡 传200户活埋（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2016-05-19 200 Families Feared Buried in Sri Lanka Landslides 斯里兰卡山体滑坡 传200户活埋

More than 200 families are reported missing in central Sri Lanka after landslides.

斯里兰卡中部发生山体滑坡，超200余个家庭失踪。

Heavy rains caused the slides which buried three farming villages near the town of Aranayaka in Kegalle district. The Sri Lankan Red Cross said rescuers had found 180 people so far. It also said 14 bodies were recovered.

凯加拉地区的阿拉纳亚卡市 (Aranayaka)遭到暴雨侵袭后发生泥石流，导致附近三个村落被掩埋。斯里兰卡红十字会称目前救援人员已发现180名幸存者，另找到14具遗体。

Local civilians joined police and hundreds of soldiers in digging through the mud with their hands, sticks and shovels to search for survivors. Officials halted the operation when night came. The search and rescue effort is to re-start in the morning.

当地民众、警察和上百位官兵一起徒手或用棍子、铲子挖掘泥土，搜寻幸存者。夜幕降临，搜救人员只得暂停搜寻工作。次日凌晨再次展开搜寻和营救工作。

Continuing rain, heavy fog and electrical outages in the area interfered with the search work. Officials warned that the rain could cause additional landslides.

持续降雨，大雾弥漫和电力中断等恶劣环境让搜寻工作变得异常艰难。政府发布预警称，雨天或再次引发泥石流灾害。

The Red Cross said that some people listed as missing may have left the area earlier after warnings of possible landslides.

红十字会表示失踪人员中可能包括听到泥石流预警后提前撤离的人员。

One woman, 70-year-old A.G. Alice from the village of Siripura, said she did not know where any of her nine children are.

70岁的A.G.爱丽丝来自Siripura，她的9个孩子至今下落不明。

In the same village, a man said four members of his family were in the same house when the landslide hit. He said he cannot find any.

村子里的另一名男子称，事发时有4位家人还在家中。他说现在没找到任何人。

A government official said hundreds of people escaped the disaster. The official said they are being treated for minor injuries.

一位政府官员表示数百人逃离了这场灾难。他们受了轻伤正在医院接受治疗。

Villagers said they began hearing and seeing the huge piles of mud and debris crash around their homes Tuesday afternoon.

村民们称周二下午听到并亲眼目睹巨大的泥堆和碎石散落在房屋周围。

“I heard a huge sound like a plane crashing into the earth,” said 52-year-old A.G. Kamala. She had just returned to her home in Siripura village. “I opened my door. I could not believe my eyes, as I saw something like a huge fireball rolling down the mountain and again a huge sound.”

52岁的 A.G.卡马拉说：“当时我听到一声巨响，就像行星撞地球那样。”那时她刚回到位于Siripura的家。“我打开房门后，简直不敢相信自己的眼睛，一个巨大的像火球一样的物体从山上滚下来，紧接着又是一声巨响。”

The rain has caused flooding in areas across Sri Lanka, including the country’s capital Colombo. Officials said about 135,000 Sri Lankans had to flee their homes and are now in temporary shelters.

这场暴雨造成斯里兰卡多地发生洪水灾害，包括首都科伦坡。官员称约有13.5万斯里兰卡人被迫离家住在临时的避难所。

Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Center said lightning strikes and smaller landslides also killed at least 11 people over the past few days.

斯里兰卡灾害管理中心表示，过去几天内雷电灾害和小型山体滑坡灾害造成至少11人死亡。

Words in This Story

landslide – n. the sliding down of a mass of earth and rock

mud – n. soft, wet dirt

shovel – n. a tool with a blade at the bottom used to move dirt or other materials

unaccounted for – adj. to be lost or missing

debris – n. the pieces of something left over after something has been destroyed

fireball – n. a ball of flame or fire