国外媒体:莫拉克重创台湾

China moved almost a million people from its coastal¹ provinces to safer areas before Typhoon Morakat hit the mainland on Sunday. Heavy rain triggered landslides³ and caused several hundred houses to collapse⁴, but the effects weren't as bad as might have been feared, after the damage it had wreaked⁶ elsewhere.

The storm had caused the worst flooding in 50 years in Taiwan. They're still working there to free thousands of people who remain trapped, and searching for the dozens who are missing.

In Japan, there were more casualties, as a different typhoon caused severe problems along the western coast of the country. Again torrential downpours triggered landslides and flooding. One man was found drowned inside his car, a woman was found dead in a gutter⁷.

Trigger: 引起,触发

A spark triggered the explosion. 

一粒火星引起了这场爆炸。

Landslide²: 滑坡,泥石流

Collapse: 倒塌

Having been neglected for years, the house collapsed⁸. 

这所房子因年久失修而倒塌了。

Wreak⁵: 造成(巨大的破坏或伤害)

Casualty: (事故、灾难等的)死者;伤者;受害人

There were dozens of casualties in the train crash. 

在那次火车撞车事故中有数十人伤亡。

Downpour: 倾盆大雨,豪雨

She was drenched⁹ by the sudden downpour. 

她被那场突然下的倾盆大雨淋得湿透。

1 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。

2 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

3 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 wreak   

v.发泄；报复

参考例句：

• She had a burning desire to wreak revenge.她复仇心切。
• Timid people always wreak their peevishness on the gentle.怯懦的人总是把满腹牢骚向温和的人发泄。

6 wreaked   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city. 地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• They have wreaked dreadful havoc among the wildlife by shooting and trapping. 他们射杀和诱捕野生动物，造成了严重的破坏。

7 gutter   

n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟

参考例句：

• There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
• He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活，并成为贵妇。

8 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

9 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》