VOA慢速英语2019 强气旋袭击印度东部

Powerful Cyclone¹ Hits Eastern India

A powerful cyclone has hit eastern India, downing trees and power lines and causing widespread damage in coastal² areas.

一场强烈的飓风袭击了印度东部，吹倒了树木和电线，在沿海地区造成大规模的破坏。

Officials said Cyclone Fani had winds up to 200 kilometers an hour when it struck the seaside state of Odisha Friday morning.

官员们说，周五早上，飓风“法尼”袭击海滨城市奥里萨邦时，风速高达每小时200公里。

The storm spent days building up strength in northern waters of the Bay of Bengal before making landfall.暴风雨在登陆前已经于孟加拉湾北部海域蓄力多日。

India’s Meteorological Department described Cyclone Fani as “extremely severe.” Disaster officials said about 1.2 million people were evacuated⁴ from low-lying areas of Odisha and moved to nearly 4,000 shelters.

印度气象部门称，飓风法尼“异常严重”。救灾官员称，大约有120万人从奥里萨邦的低洼地带转移至大约4000处避难所内。

The storm heavily damaged the coastal town of Puri. Most of the area’s thatched-roof houses were destroyed. The road into Puri was blocked by fallen trees and downed electricity lines. A special train ran Thursday to evacuate³ visitors.

这场暴风雨严重地破坏了沿海城市-普里，该地区的大多数茅草屋被毁，通向普里的道路被倒地的树木和电线堵塞。周四，一趟专列开始疏散游客。

To the north, in West Bengal state, the airport in the capital Kolkata was closed from Friday afternoon to Saturday morning.

在北部的西孟加拉邦，首都加尔各答的机场从周五下午到周六上午关闭。

At least 200 trains were canceled across India.

印度境内至少200列火车被取消。

The latest storm hit in the middle of India’s six-week general election⁵. The weather caused political parties in Kolkata to cancel campaign events.

最近一场暴风雨发生在印度长达六周的普选中期。天气原因导致加尔各答的政党取消了竞选活动。

In neighboring Bangladesh, officials planned to move 500,000 people from seven coastal areas, a government minister said. Ports were also ordered closed. Weather officials predict the storm will likely hit Bangladesh late on Saturday.

一位政府部长称，在邻国孟加拉国，官员们计划转移7个沿海地区的50万人口。港口也都被下令关闭，气象官员预测，这场飓风很可能会在周六晚些时候袭击孟加拉国。

Officials in Bangladesh suspended⁶ the activity of ships in the country, which has about 130 rivers. Local media reports said water began flowing into at least 10 villages in coastal Patuakhali district in southern Bangladesh. The reports said the force of the cyclone caused flood barriers to break.

孟加拉国的官员暂停了该国约130条河道的船运。当地媒体报道说，洪水开始涌向孟加拉国南部沿海地区，至少10个村庄会受到影响。报道指出，飓风导致洪水冲破了堤坝。

Aid agencies⁷ warned that more than 1 million Rohingya from Myanmar living at refugee⁸ camps near the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar were at risk. A representative for the aid group CARE said it had emergency supplies ready for the refugees⁹.

援助机构警告称，居住在考克斯巴扎尔沿海地区附近难民营的100多万名来自缅甸的罗辛亚人都面临危险。援助组织的一名代表指出，难民的紧急物资已经准备妥善。

India’s cyclone season can last from April to December. In the past, several severe storms caused widespread damage and numerous¹⁰ deaths in both India and Bangladesh. But technological¹¹ developments over the years have helped officials better predict storm activity and take necessary steps to prepare.

印度的飓风季会从4月持续到12月。以往的几次强烈飓风导致印度和孟加拉国受到大范围破坏和大量的人员伤亡。但是，多年来科技的发展帮助了官员们更准确地预测暴风活动，并采取必要的防范措施。

Words in This Story

cyclone – ?n. a violent storm with very strong winds that move in a circle

evacuate – n. to move people from a dangerous place to somewhere safer

thatched-roof – adj. a roof made of natural materials such as straw and mud

1 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

2 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

3 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

4 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

5 election   

n.选举，选择权；当选

参考例句：

• There is no doubt but that he will win the election.毫无疑问，他将在竞选中获胜。
• The government will probably fall at the coming election.在即将到来的大选中，该政府很可能要垮台。

6 suspended   

a.被暂时搁置的

参考例句：

• A lamp was suspended from the ceiling. 一盏吊灯悬在天花板上。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area. 英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

9 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

10 numerous   

adj.为数众多的；极多的

参考例句：

• There have been numerous exchanges of views between the two governments.两国政府间曾多次交换意见。
• There are numerous people in the square. 有许多人在广场上。

11 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。