VOA慢速英语2018 加州或面临最严重火灾季

California May Face Worst Fire Season

The largest wildfire in California history took just 11 days to burn an area nearly the size of Los Angeles.

加州史上规模最大的山火仅在11天内所烧毁的面积相当于洛杉矶地区面积。 

The fire is just one of several that could make this the worst fire season in American history.

这场山火只是美国历史上最严重的几个火灾季之一。 

Mark Hartwig is president of the California Fire Chiefs Association.He told the Associated Press that, “For whatever reason, fires are burning much more intensely, much more quickly than they were before.”

马克·哈特维格是加州消防长官协会主席。他告诉美联社说，“不管是因为什么，现在的火势比之前更加猛烈，也蔓延的更快。”

About 14,000 firefighters are working to contain the state’s 18 fires in the middle of an unusually hot, often windy summer.The firefighters come from communities across the United States and even as far away as New Zealand.

在这个异常炎热、经常刮风的盛夏，约1.4万名消防员正在努力扑灭该州的18起火灾。这些消防员来自美国各地，甚至有些来自遥远的新西兰。

Some of the largest fires have started within the past few weeks as California has record setting temperatures.Historically, the worst months of wildfire season are still to come.

在过去的几个星期内，由于加州气温创下了历史新高，一些最大型的火灾已经发生。从历史上看，山火高发季中最严重的几个月还未到来。

Last month, California’s Death Valley set a world record for the hottest month ever.The average temperature in July was 42.28 degrees Celsius¹.That is higher than the earlier world record, set last year, also in Death Valley.

上个月，加州的死亡谷创下了史上最热月份的世界纪录。该地7月份的平均气温是42.28摄氏度。这比去年也是由死亡谷创下的高温世界纪录还要高。

California Governor Jerry Brown spoke² about climate change last week.He said, “Since civilization emerged³ 10,000 years ago, we haven’t had this kind of heat condition, and it’s going to continue getting worse.That’s the way it is."

上周，加州州长杰里·布朗谈及气候变化问题。他说:“自从一万年前文明出现以来，我们还没有经历过这种情况，而且这种情况还会继续恶化。事实就是这样。”

On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, another major wildfire is burning in the Algarve area of Southern Portugal.

在大西洋的另一边，在葡萄牙南部的阿尔加维地区，另一场大火正在燃烧。 

The Portuguese⁴ Civil Protection Agency said almost 1,300 firefighters were sent to the fire since it started last week.Last year, 109 people died as a result of the wildfires across Portugal.

葡萄牙民防局称自上周火灾开始以来，近1300名消防员被派往火灾现场。去年，有109人在葡萄牙境内的森林大火中丧生。

Prime Minister Antonio Costa said that strong winds have slowed efforts to control the fire.But the hot weather that has covered much of Europe for weeks is starting to cool down.Weather experts said they expected a high temperature of 31 degrees Celsius for the Algarve on Wednesday.

葡萄牙总理安东尼奥·科斯塔说，强风使控制火势所做的努力收效甚微。但是，已经持续了数周席卷欧洲大部分地区炎热天气已经开始降温。气象专家称，他们预计周三时阿尔加维将迎来31度高温。

1 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 emerged   

vi. 浮现, (由某种状态)脱出, (事实)显现出来

参考例句：

• They emerged from the church into the bright daylight. 他们走出教堂来到明亮的日光下。
• The swimmer emerged from the lake. 游泳者从湖水中浮出来。

4 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。