VOA慢速英语2014 致命台风袭击菲律宾后,转向中国

 

AS IT IS 2014-07-18 Deadly Typhoon Hits Philippines, Heads Toward¹ China 致命台风袭击菲律宾后,转向中国

The powerful ocean storm Typhoon Rammasun is heading toward China after killing² 38 people in the northern Philippines.

Philippine officials say eight people are also missing³ after the storm moved across the main island of Luzon on Wednesday. 

Hundreds of thousands are still without electricity in the capital city, Manila, and surrounding areas.

Residents⁴ lift a house damaged by Typhoon Rammasun in Batangas city, south of Manila, July 17, 2014.Residents lift a house damaged by Typhoon Rammasun in Batangas city, south of Manila, July 17, 2014.

Philippine officials moved more than 400,000 people for safety reasons before the storm struck.  

They hoped to avoid what happened last November when Typhoon Haiyan killed 6,300 people.

A man uses a chain saw to remove a huge tree that fell on top of a car during Typhoon Rammasun. (Manila, July 16, 2014)A man uses a chain saw to remove a huge tree that fell on top of a car during Typhoon Rammasun. (Manila, July 16, 2014)

Falling trees were responsible for most of the deaths in the Philippines. In the city of Lucena, at least three people died when a wall collapsed⁵ on them.

Rammasun means "God of Thunder" in the Thai language. 

On Thursday, it was considered a category one storm, a measure of storm strength based on wind speed.  At the time of this report, Typhoon Rammasun had winds measured at 130 kilometers per hour or more.

Weather experts believe Typhoon Rammasun could gain speed as it moves over the warm water of the South China Sea.  The typhoon could then become a category three or even a category four storm. 

Typhoon Rammasun is expected to reach Hainan Island on Friday.  Nearly nine million people live on the island.

China's official Xinhua news agency⁶ said strong winds, heavy rains and high ocean tides are expected along the country's southern coast.

Xinhua also said on Thursday that shipping⁷ will be stopped for an unknown period of time in the strait between Hainan Island and China's southern Guangdong Province.

Damaging winds will also be possible across southern Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces in China late Friday.  Northern Vietnam also is expected to have damaging winds Friday night into Saturday.

1 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

2 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。

3 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

4 residents   

n.居民( resident的名词复数 )；（旅馆的）住宿者

参考例句：

• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。
• Local residents have reacted angrily to the news. 当地居民对这一消息表示愤怒。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

7 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。