VOA慢速英语--龙卷风袭击美国南部

AS IT IS 2016-02-25 Tornadoes² Crush Mobile Homes in South US 龙卷风袭击美国南部

Tornadoes crushed mobile homes and destroyed neighborhoods in the southeastern United States during severe weather Tuesday.

At least three people were dead when tornadoes hit southern Louisiana and Mississippi. The National Weather Service said that seven tornadoes were confirmed, from west of New Orleans to southern Mississippi.

In Mississippi, one person died when a tornado¹ destroyed a mobile home. In Louisiana, two people were killed and more than a 100 mobile homes and recreational vehicles were demolished⁴ by a tornado 100 kilometers west of New Orleans.

Police and volunteers were still searching the mobile-home park for survivors⁵.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said people are still missing. “These travel-trailers were picked up, thrown a considerable distance and just mangled,” he said after visiting the scene.

Ambulances from surrounding communities transported more than 30 residents of the neighborhood to hospitals.

Edwards declared a state of emergency in the severely⁷ damaged areas of Louisiana.

Tornadoes were spotted⁸ near New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport and Lake Pontchartrain. Severe storms around New Orleans destroyed roofs and downed trees. Many residents were without electrical power Wednesday in the region.

Other states receiving bad weather from the storm included Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. A tornado was reported near Pensacola, Florida. That tornado caused property damage and injuries.

Schools in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida cancelled school classes ahead of Wednesday’s storm threat. Heavy rain and severe weather are forecasted from Washington, D.C., to Florida on Wednesday.

Words in This Story

tornado – n. a violent and destructive storm in which powerful winds move around a central point

mobile home – n. a house that is built in a factory and then moved to the place where people will live in it

recreational vehicle– n. a large vehicle that often has a bathroom, kitchen, and beds for use during travel and camping

trailer park – n. a large piece of land where vehicles can be parked and connected to electricity and water supplies

demolish³ – v. to damage something so that it cannot be repaired

mangle⁶ – v. to injure or damage (something severely by cutting, tearing or crushing

ambulance – n. a vehicle used for taking injured or sick people to the hospital especially in emergencies

1 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

2 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

3 demolish   

v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等)

参考例句：

• They're going to demolish that old building.他们将拆毁那座旧建筑物。
• He was helping to demolish an underground garage when part of the roof collapsed.他当时正在帮忙拆除一个地下汽车库，屋顶的一部份突然倒塌。

4 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

5 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

6 mangle   

vt.乱砍，撕裂，破坏，毁损，损坏，轧布

参考例句：

• New shoes don't cut,blister,or mangle his feet.新鞋子不会硌脚、起泡或让脚受伤。
• Mangle doesn't increase the damage of Maul and Shred anymore.裂伤不再增加重殴和撕碎的伤害。

7 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

8 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。