PBS高端访谈:美国中西部迎来特大洪水

Across the U.S. Midwest, heavy rain and snowmelt have sent rivers over levees, submerging farms and whole neighborhoods in several states. William Brangham has our report.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In Peru, Nebraska, National Guard trucks bring a lifeline, bottled water. Volunteers unload the water after flooding from the Missouri River shut down the town's water treatment plant. Fred Knapp of Nebraska PBS station NET was in Peru.

FRED KNAPP, NET Nebraska: Down here, there are about 10 houses that have been flooded by the Missouri River after a levee broke north of here.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Across the state, roads, livestock¹ and hundreds of homes have been swallowed by floodwaters.

MAN: It is devastating². It is devastating.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Flooding began last week after a massive late-winter storm hit. Water levels rose through the weekend, hitting those who live along the Missouri River the hardest.

LISA LEMUS, Nebraska: It's about as bad as it gets. You know, you're starting over.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Lisa Lemus, from Sarpy County, is one of hundreds who had to evacuate³ when waters flooded her home.

LISA LEMUS: There is no words that can describe somebody's mental state when all this comes down.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Rescuers in airboats came to save those who couldn't escape in time. Across the Midwest, floodwaters brought record river levels to 41 places, including 17 spots in Nebraska. The water reached seven feet in some areas. On the eastern side of the Missouri River, nearly 2,000 people have been evacuated⁴ across Iowa. Floodwaters destroyed roads, including part of this bridge in Council Bluffs⁵. Overflow⁶ from the Rock River in Illinois has inundated⁷ communities along its banks. And it could still get worse. Rain is in the forecast for Tuesday, and the Missouri River is expected to reach its highest level on Thursday. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm William Brangham.

在美国的中西部地区，瓢泼大雨和融雪水让多条河流淹没了防洪堤，吞噬了几个州的许多农场和整片居民区。下面请听威廉·布兰汉姆发回的报道。

威廉·布兰汉姆：在秘鲁的内布拉斯加州，国民警卫队的数辆卡车为民众带来了救命的物资——瓶装水。志愿者们将瓶装水卸车，在此之前，密苏里河的洪水导致该镇的水处理厂关停。下面请听我台驻秘鲁内布拉斯加州NET站记者佛瑞德·克纳普发回的报道。

佛瑞德·克纳普，内布拉斯加州NET站：本地有近10所房屋被密苏里河引发的洪水冲垮，因为本地北部的一座防洪堤崩溃。

威廉·布兰汉姆：内布拉斯加州的多条道路、家禽、上百户人家被洪水吞噬。

男：这次洪灾太可怕了，十分可怕。

威廉·布兰汉姆：洪灾是上周开始的，当时，一场冬末的暴风雨重创了该州。仅一个周末，水位就大幅上升，受灾最严重的是密苏里河沿岸生活的民众。

丽萨·莱穆斯，内布拉斯加州：情况糟糕至极。一切都要重新来过。

威廉·布兰汉姆：丽萨·莱穆斯来自萨尔披县，她和几百人一样，不得不疏散，因为洪灾已经淹没了她的家。

丽萨·莱穆斯：有些人受到了巨大的心理创痛，无法用言语形容。

威廉·布兰汉姆：援救人员乘坐汽船来撤离时间不够的民众。在中西部，洪水使水位上升到历史最高水平，波及了41个地方，其中包括内布拉斯加州的17个地方。一些地区的水位达到了7英尺。在密苏里河东边，爱荷华州近2000人得到疏散。洪水冲毁了多条道路，包括康瑟尔布拉夫斯这座桥的部分桥段。伊利诺斯州罗克河河水泛滥，淹没了沿岸的许多社群。情况还在持续恶化。周二预报有大雨降临，而密苏里河预计于周四达到史上最高水位。感谢收听威廉·布兰汉姆发回的《新闻一小时》。

1 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

2 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

4 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

5 bluffs   

恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁

参考例句：

• Two steep limestone bluffs rise up each side of the narrow inlet. 两座陡峭的石灰石断崖耸立在狭窄的入口两侧。
• He bluffs his way in, pretending initially to be a dishwasher and then later a chef. 他虚张声势的方式，假装最初是一个洗碗机，然后厨师。

6 overflow   

v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出

参考例句：

• The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
• After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后，河水可能溢出岸来。

7 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》