新西兰英语 388 Clean-up in Queensland

　　Water levels dropped quickly after the terrible floods last week, leaving thick layers of smelly mud.
About 50,000 volunteers are helping¹ to clean up. They bring spades, brooms, buckets and rubbish bags. They scrape mud off the floor with a spade or try to sweep it out with a broom. They throw out furniture, books, toys and carpets which are covered with mud. Rubbish trucks collect dirty and broken possessions. In some places, where the water was right up to the ceiling, people pull out kitchen benches and inside walls. Some homes will be demolished². More than 30,000 homes and businesses were flooded.
Most of those properties still have no electricity. Each building has to be checked by a qualified³ electrician⁴ before the power can be connected.
It is not easy to get to some properties because of broken bridges and roads. Most buses in Brisbane city are now running but ferry terminals (like bus stops) on the Brisbane River are damaged. Ferries are important in Brisbane to carry workers into the city.
The police are looking for 14 people who are still missing. They have found 18 bodies, some in cars, houses, fields or in rivers.
The heavy rain has been caused by La Nina weather in the Pacific. This rain is now spreading down the east coast of Australia to Victoria and Tasmania, causing flooding in these areas.
Questions
1. How long do you think it will take before everything is back to normal? Days, months or years?
2. Are you surprised at the number of volunteers? Would this happen in every country do you think or are Australians unusual?
3. The floods in Brazil are much worse. Why do we in New Zealand hear much more about Australia than Brazil?

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

3 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

4 electrician   

n.电工，电气技师

参考例句：

• She said she would find an electrician for us.她说她要给我们找一个电工技师。
• We need an electrician to mend the iron.我们要请电工修理熨斗。