新西兰英语 386 More flooding in Queensland, Australia

　　The flooding in Queensland has now reached Brisbane. Some of the towns north of Brisbane, which had the earlier floods, have become flooded again.
This time the Brisbane River has already flooded its banks. Workers in the central city were told not to go to work. Many businesses have closed. Electricity has been cut off in some places because of the danger when water mixes with electricity. Queensland premier¹, Anna Bligh, told residents² they should stay home and not travel. Many roads are covered with water and are not safe. However, if people live in areas which could flood, it would be a good idea to stay with friends or family who live on the hills in Brisbane.
We have seen frightening pictures of rivers in flood, sweeping³ cars and boats downstream, out of control. Even houses have moved in the flood waters. People sitting on the roof of their house or on the roof of their car have been rescued. But not everybody has been rescued. So far 10 people have died. Police are looking for another 90 people.
Yesterday, the rain continued making it difficult for helicopters⁴ to search for people who needed help. Today, it is a beautiful day, hard to believe that the rivers are still rising because of the rain in the past few days.
The Brisbane River could rise to more than 5m tomorrow morning at high tide. After that, it may take a week for the river level to drop.
New Zealand has sent a team of 15 Civil Defence⁵ volunteers to help, and will also send a Red Cross team. Australia always helps New Zealand when we need it.
Questions
Present perfect tense is used to show an event that started in the past and continues right now. How many examples of present perfect tense can you find? Is it possible to replace these verbs⁶ with the simple past tense? Has the meaning changed?

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 residents   

n.居民( resident的名词复数 )；（旅馆的）住宿者

参考例句：

• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。
• Local residents have reacted angrily to the news. 当地居民对这一消息表示愤怒。

3 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

4 helicopters   

n.直升机( helicopter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Recovery ships and helicopters are headed for the splashdown area. 载回船只和直升飞机正向溅落区进发。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• There were two helicopters circling around. 有两架直升机在空中盘旋。 来自辞典例句

5 defence   

n.保卫，防御，辩护

参考例句：

• The lawyer produced a clever defence of his client.律师机智地为委托人辩护。
• We must see that there is no gap in our defence.我们必须确保我们的防御没有漏洞。

6 verbs   

动词

参考例句：

• I have to swot up on phrasal verbs for a test tomorrow. 我不得不为明天的测验努力温习短语动词。
• Verbs that do not take object are called intransitive verbs. 不带宾语的动词称为不及物动词。