VOA常速英语2018--加州森林大火依然尚未扑灭

It’s been two weeks since a forest fire started in Mendocino County, while the cause and origin of the fire are still under investigations¹. Officials say it is now that largest wildfire in the state’s history. A few lucky residents have been allowed to return to their homes to see the damage for themselves. Firefighters did a good job. They did excellent job. Did you lose any kind of any property anyway? Um, property’s burnt and I understand a couple outbuildings, but we weren’t using those outbuildings. Yeah, we’ve had other close calls, but this has been the closest. So it definitely will make you think a lot more about what you need to do.

门多西诺县发生森林失火已有2周之久，但起火原因和火源为何依然不得而知。有多位工作人员表示，这次火灾是该州历史上最大的一起。有一些幸免于难的居民获准回家亲自查看损失情况。消防员表现出色，令人敬佩。您有损失什么财务吗？嗯……有些财物被烧毁了，我还知道有一些外屋也未能幸免，但好在我们也没有用这些外屋。可以说，我们也涉险过很多次，但这次是死神离我们最近的一次。这次事件肯定会让我们思考很多，而不止限于我们需要做的事情。

Many residents have volunteered to help firefighters, but the potential risk from hotspot reignite, the acrid² smoke and poor air quality poses³ a serious threat to the safety of volunteers. We saw that smoke was coming out and we tried to contain it. But it is very difficult, very hot, we’d better wait for the firemen to arrive. Because we do not want it to start again, the more years go by the hotter it gets. Mendocino is an agricultural county and many of its residents depend on the fruits and vegetables that grow here for their livelihood⁴. It affects us a lot, because there are a lot of grapes, a lot of pears and we all stop working. There are no pear harvests, a lot of fruit is lost, the grapes are burned.

很多居民自愿帮助消防员，但热点地区火势死灰复燃、刺鼻的浓烟、极差的空气质量都是潜在风险，威胁着志愿者的安全。我们看到烟冒出来了，我们也试图堵住浓烟。但太难了，因为太烫手了，所以只好等消防员来救火。我们不希望悲剧重演，时间越久，温度越高。门多西诺郡以农业为主，郡上的很多居民都以卖水果蔬菜为生。这场大火对我们影响很大，因为我们种了很多葡萄、梨，现在只能被迫停止。梨没法丰收了，很多水果都葬送火海，葡萄也烧坏了。

California firefighters are currently⁵ battling more than a thousand fires in the state, but the Mendocino complex fire is the largest burning through more than one hundred twenty-one thousand hectares. Authorities are slowly reopening zones to allow residents to return to their homes, but it may take several more weeks and some good luck to completely contained raging fires.

加州的消防员现在正在该州各处灭火，多达1000多处，但门多西诺却是最大的一场，绵延12万多公顷。当局正在逐渐重新开放区域，让居民重返家园，但彻底制止火势可能还需要很多州，这还是在上天眷顾的情况下。

1 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

2 acrid   

adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的

参考例句：

• There is an acrid tone to your remarks.你说这些话的口气带有讥刺意味。
• The room was filled with acrid smoke.房里充满刺鼻的烟。

3 poses   

使摆姿势( pose的第三人称单数 )； 以…身份出现； 招摇； 炫耀

参考例句：

• This poses a threat to agriculture and the food chain, and consequently to human health. 这会对农业和食物链造成威胁，由此而危及人的健康。
• The high cost of oil poses serious problems for industry. 昂贵的石油价格给工业造成了严重困难。

4 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

5 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。