英语杂谈：77 A visit to flood coty,USA

One of the most famous small towns in America is Johnstown, Pennsylvania, population 24,000.Unfortunately, it owes that fame to a tragedy.
In the late 19th Century, Johnstown was the nation's mightiest¹ steel center - more prosperous than Pittsburgh - turning out steel rails and barbed wire. The air was yellow and black from the smoke, but the pay was good.

The town lay on a flat plain at the base of an Allegheny Mountain valley so steep that the hillsides rose straight upward along the Little Connemaugh River.
It was a natural funnel², pointed³ directly downhill at Johnstown.
High in those mountains, behind a crude earthen dam, wealthy Pittsburgh industrialists⁵ and their friends sailed yachts on a pretty private lake.
Naysayers warned of a catastrophic flood should the dam break, but amid the prosperity, the warnings were ignored. Town leaders said any floodwaters coursing down the mountain would flatten⁶ out once they reached the valley.

But one spring night in 1889 and on into the next day, drenching⁷ thunderstorms pounded the mountainsides.
The lake rose, intensifying⁸ pressure against the dam.
With the force of a giant waterfall, the dam burst, launching a wall of water 18 meters [60 feet] high down the funnel toward Johnstown faster than warnings could be sounded.
Grinding up trees, houses, boulders⁹, locomotives, humans, and animals in its path, it slammed into Johnstown, pulverizing¹⁰ the center of town.
Afterward¹¹, most observers blamed the rich yachtsmen and their leaky earthen dam for the deaths of 2,200 men, women and children.

These days, tourists make a point of visiting a museum that tells the dramatic story. Ironically, it's located in a building donated by industrialist⁴ Andrew Carnegie.
He was one of the owners of the pleasure club whose members cavorted¹² high above ill-fated Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
 

1 mightiest   

adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的

参考例句：

• \"If thou fearest to leave me in our cottage, thou mightiest take me along with thee. “要是你害怕把我一个人留在咱们的小屋里，你可以带我一块儿去那儿嘛。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• Silent though is, after all, the mightiest agent in human affairs. 确实，沉默毕竟是人类事件中最强大的代理人。 来自互联网

2 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 industrialist   

n.工业家，实业家

参考例句：

• The industrialist's son was kidnapped.这名实业家的儿子被绑架了。
• Mr.Smith was a wealthy industrialist,but he was not satisfied with life.史密斯先生是位富有的企业家，可他对生活感到不满意。

5 industrialists   

n.工业家，实业家( industrialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This deal will offer major benefits to industrialists and investors. 这笔交易将会让实业家和投资者受益匪浅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has set up a committee of industrialists and academics to advise it. 政府已成立了一个实业家和学者的委员会来为其提供建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 flatten   

v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽

参考例句：

• We can flatten out a piece of metal by hammering it.我们可以用锤子把一块金属敲平。
• The wrinkled silk will flatten out if you iron it.发皱的丝绸可以用熨斗烫平。

7 drenching   

n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• A black cloudburst was drenching Siena at midday. 中午，一场天昏地暗的暴风雨在锡耶纳上空倒下来。 来自辞典例句
• A drenching rain poured down and the rising hurricane drove it in sheets along the ground. 一阵倾盆大雨泼下来了，越来越大的狂风把它顺着地面刮成了一片一片的雨幕。 来自辞典例句

8 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

9 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 pulverizing   

v.将…弄碎( pulverize的现在分词 )；将…弄成粉末或尘埃；摧毁；粉碎

参考例句：

• Marcus had proved his prowess in the ring by pulverizing all challengers. 拳击台上，马科斯彻底击败了所有挑战者，从而证明了他高超的本领。 来自互联网
• Its large caliber enables fast and pulverizing of material. 进料口径大可快速粉碎进料。 来自互联网

11 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

12 cavorted   

v.跳跃( cavort的过去式 )

参考例句：

• URGELLING, India-He drank wine, cavorted with women and wrote poetry that spoke of life's earthly pleasures. 他喝着酒，和女人跳着舞，写着述说生命最纯美的诗。 来自互联网
• St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marriage. 圣保罗欢闹了基督教。他传讲了圣恶毒，就是婚姻的另一个名字。 来自互联网