新西兰英语 556 Hot air balloon accident

 　　Eleven people were killed early this morning in Carterton when a hot air balloon caught fire. There were ten passengers and a pilot in the balloon basket. As the balloon came in to land just before 7.30am, it hit a power line and burst¹ into flames. The balloon descended² very fast. Two people jumped from the basket before it landed but they did not survive.

　　The pilot had more than 1000 hours experience of piloting a hot air balloon. The weather was calm and clear. It is hard to understand how this accident happened.

　　Carterton is a popular place for hot air ballooning because it has views of mountains, rivers and farm land. Carterton is just over an hour from Wellington by car. The passengers were five couples, all from the Wellington area.

　　Collocations

　　Collocations are words which go together. It is a good idea to learn them. These are collocations: caught fire, came in to land, burst into flames, it is hard to understand …, just over an hour

1 burst   

vi.（burst，burst）爆炸；爆破；爆裂；爆发；vt.使…破裂；使…炸破；n.突然破裂；爆发

参考例句：

• We all held our breath till the bomb burst.我们屏住呼吸直到炸弹爆炸。
• She suddenly burst into song.她突然唱起歌来。

2 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。