2007年VOA标准英语-Caribbean Hurricane on Path to Hit Mexico, Beli

By Brian Wagner
Miami
20 August 2007

Hurricane Dean is continuing its path west through the Caribbean, where it was expected to hit the Yucatan peninsula early Tuesday. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports the storm earlier passed near Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, where most communities escaped serious damage.

Two couples look at the ocean as Hurricane Dean approaches the area in Cancun, southeastern Mexico, 20 Aug 2007

The governments in Mexico and Belize issued hurricane warnings ahead of the storm, and braced¹ for powerful wind and rain. In the Mexican resort town of Cancun, scores of tourists packed the airport in search of flights leaving the area ahead of the storm. Mexico's state oil company also began evacuating² workers from oil rigs in the Gulf³ of Mexico.

Weather forecasters said early Monday the storm was a category four hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 240 kilometers per hour and possible rainfall of up to 50 centimeters.

Michelle Minelli, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Miami, said the storm was expected to get stronger as it entered warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

"Some strengthening is expected today, and Dean is likely to become a category five hurricane prior to making landfall over the Yucatan peninsula very early Tuesday morning," she said.

Young boys use an umbrella to resist the wind while walking on a street in Kingston as Hurricane Dean passes over Jamaica, 19 Aug 2007

Earlier, the hurricane's eye passed south of the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, where it snapped trees, tore off roofs and flooded streets. Officials in both places said they were spared the worst of the storm, however, and no casualties were reported immediately.

In south Florida, businessman Leo Benjamin said he managed to catch a late flight out of Jamaica before the storm, but three members of his missionary⁴ team did not. He said he spoke⁵ by telephone with them late Sunday, as the storm battered⁶ the home where they took refuge in Kingston.

"They were hearing trees snap. In the house they were in, the roof came off, all the shingles⁷ came off," he said. "They were spending their time mopping up water, and they watched the house next door lose a lot of their shingles also."

Benjamin said he spoke by telephone early Monday with residents of Jamaica's north coast, where people expressed relief that storm damage was relatively⁸ minor⁹.

Since last week, Hurricane Dean has been blamed for at least eight deaths in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the island of Dominica.

In the southern United States, officials in Texas and Louisiana have ordered emergency crews to monitor the storm for possible heavy rainfall and winds.

Officials with the U.S. space agency have ordered the shuttle Endeavour to return to earth Tuesday, one day ahead of schedule, because of weather concerns at Mission Control in Houston, Texas.

1 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

5 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。

6 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

7 shingles   

n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板

参考例句：

• Shingles are often dipped in creosote. 屋顶板常浸涂木焦油。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The roofs had shingles missing. 一些屋顶板不见了。 来自辞典例句

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。