VOA标准英语2008年-Houston Braces for Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike is bearing down on the Texas coast with the fourth largest city in the United States squarely in its sights. Houston is preparing for the first direct hit from a major storm in 25 years. Hundreds of thousands of people have evacuated¹ Galveston island and areas close to the coast, but people farther inland are taking shelter and waiting for the high winds and torrential rains that are expected to hit most of southeast Texas. VOA's Greg Flakus has more on the story from Houston.
　
Image provided by NASA shows Hurricane Ike in Gulf² of Mexico closing in on Texas coast, 12 Sep 2008

Large waves are crashing onto the beaches of Galveston Island under a darkening sky. Local officials are urging anyone who has not already left the coastal³ areas to get out now. Hundreds of thousands of people took that advice Thursday and vehicles moved slowly, but steadily⁴ up highways leading up from the coast through Houston and to destinations farther inland.

As officials conferred with meteorologists tracking Hurricane Ike early Friday they looked for signs that the eye of the massive storm might be moving up the coast away from Houston, as Hurricane Rita did in September, 2005. But Houston Mayor Bill White says this storm is coming right at the city.

"This particular hurricane took a turn towards the north, towards us, with fairly short notice, but now all the scientific models converge⁵; the storm is coming here," White said.
　
Traffic lines Interstate 45 leaving Houston as Hurricane Ike approaches the Texas Gulf Coast , in The Woodlands, Texas, 11 Sep 2008

Federal and state officials are also on hand preparing for what is likely to be a major disaster. Federal officials are estimating $3 billion in damage to the area as the storm moves inland in the coming hours. The first danger is from the storm surge, which could be higher than 6 meters in some coastal areas. Experts say nine out of ten people killed by hurricanes are victims of the surge and flooding caused by the surge.

The next danger comes from high winds, which could be well above 100-kilometers-an-hour even after the storm comes over land and begins to lose strength. Heavy rains also pose a threat because the Gulf of Mexico waters will be so high that normal drainage will be curtailed⁶.

Ike is currently a Category Two hurricane, although it could strengthen to a Category Three storm in the coming hours. Experts say the characteristic that makes it so dangerous is that it covers a wide area, bringing high water to virtually the entire Texas coastline, and threatening much of east Texas, parts of Louisiana and even some states to the north with flooding and wind damage.

Hurricane Ike has also closed down a large part of the US oil and gas industry. More than 700 platforms in the Gulf were evacuated earlier this week and companies operating refineries⁷ in the Houston area are also closing down operations. Around 25 percent of all US domestic oil production comes from the Gulf of Mexico and refineries in this area account for 23 percent of domestic oil-processing.

The hurricane is not expected to have much impact on New Orleans, which was devastated⁸ by Hurricane Katrina three years ago. At that time thousands of evacuees⁹ from New Orleans found shelter in Houston. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says now is the time for his city to return the favor.

"I had a call into Mayor White this morning," Nagin said. "Our first responders and anything else he needs is at his disposal and we will be ready to go when he makes the call. This is our opportunity to say to our friends in Houston and Texas, that we want to take care of you, since you have taken care of us."

New Orleans has yet to fully¹⁰ recover from Katrina and has just over half the population it had before the hurricane. Images of Katrina's devastation¹¹ are still fresh in the minds of people here in Houston and all along the Gulf coast as another monster storm approaches land.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

5 converge   

vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近

参考例句：

• The results converge towards this truth.其结果趋近于这个真理。
• Parallel lines converge at infinity.平行线永不相交。

6 curtailed   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
• Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

8 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

9 evacuees   

n.被疏散者( evacuee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Moreover, for multi-exits, evacuees select a exit based on game theory. 在有多个出口时，疏散人员根据对策论选择出口。 来自互联网
• Evacuees wade through flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar on Saturday, July 31, 2010. 撤离灾区涉水通过后在白沙瓦沉重的季风降雨在周六，2010年7月31日。 来自互联网

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》