VOA慢速英语2018 夏威夷或有重大火山喷发

Scientists: Major Volcanic¹ Burst Possible in Hawaii

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano could soon send huge rocks and ash shooting out of its summit² crater³. The last time this happened was almost 100 years ago.

夏威夷基拉韦厄火山很快就有巨石和火山灰从顶部的火山口喷射出来，上一次火山爆发差不多是100年以前了。

Scientists say the risks of a forceful summit burst will rise in the coming weeks.

科学家称未来几周喷发活动会加剧。 

Kilauea has destroyed 36 structures — including 26 homes — since it began releasing lava⁴ from vents⁶, or openings in the ground.There are now 15 vents spread across the Pahoa area of Hawaii’s Big Island.

基拉韦厄火山毁坏了36个建筑——其中包括26处住宅——因为熔岩从火山口或是地面裂口处喷射出来。夏威夷帕赫阿地区比格艾兰岛上有15处裂口。

Tina Neal is a scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory⁷. She said the lava lake looks similar to conditions seen before a major summit eruption⁸ in 1924. That explosion killed one person and sent rocks, ash and dust into the air for 17 days.

蒂娜·尼尔是夏威夷火山观测站的一名科学家负责人，她指出，这次熔岩湖的状况和1924年火山爆发前的状况相似。那次火山爆发导致一人死亡，喷射岩石、灰和尘土持续了17天。

This could happen again, scientists say, once the summit lava lake drops so low that groundwater can flow into the channel that feeds magma to the crater. The magma would heat the water and create steam. This would push out rocks that have collected there.

科学家称这种情况有可能再次发生，一旦山顶熔岩湖降低，地下水流入岩浆通道直达火山口。岩浆使地下水受热从而产生蒸汽，这样的话那里的岩石会被推上来。

Don Swanson is another scientist with the Observatory. He said the magma is likely to drop below the water level around the middle of May. Scientists do not know how long it would be after that for an explosion to take place.

唐·斯旺森也是观测站的一名科学家，他称五月中旬左右岩浆可能会落到水平面以下的位置。科学家不知道在那之后多久火山会爆发。

“We suspect it’s a rapid process,” Swanson told reporters on a conference call.

“我们猜测整个过程会很快，” 斯旺森在一次电话会议上对记者说道。 

No one lives in the immediate⁹ area of the summit crater. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which includes the crater and surrounding area, announced that it would close Friday ahead of the possible explosive event.

山顶火山口附近无人居住。夏威夷火山国家公园涵盖火山口和周围区域，园方宣布周五将闭园，那之后可能会有火山爆发。

Cindy Wood was visiting the national park from Canada. “It seems pretty safe to me right now but they’d know best,” she told the Associated Press. “We don’t know what’s going on underground. Life and safety is what’s most important.”

辛迪·伍德是加拿大的一名游客，来游览国家公园，她告诉美联社，“在我看来是很安全的，不过他们最了解情况。我们不知道地下发生了什么，生命安全才是最重要的。”

Earlier this month, officials ordered nearly 2,000 people to leave the neighborhoods around the vents. But some ignored the order and stayed to watch over their property.

本月早些时候，官员指示2000人左右离开裂口附近，但是有一些人无视指示，留下来看护自己的财产。

Some have refused to follow orders to leave because of fears their property would be robbed.

有一些人拒绝听从离开的指示，担心他们的财产会被偷掉。

Words in This Story

summit - n. the highest point of a mountain : the top of a mountain

crater - n. the area on top of a volcano that is shaped like a bowl

lava - n. melted rock from a volcano

vent⁵ - n. an opening through which air, steam, smoke, liquid, etc., can go into or out of a room, machine, or container

magma - n. hot liquid rock below the surface of the Earth

channel - n. a path, tube, or long narrow place where water flows

rapid - adj. happening in a short amount of time

1 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

2 summit   

n.最高点，峰顶；最高级会议；极点

参考例句：

• They climbed up the mountain and reached the summit.他们爬山，最终达到了山顶。
• The summit of the mountain is lost in the cloud and mist.山顶隐没在云雾之中。

3 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

4 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

5 vent   

n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄

参考例句：

• He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
• When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时，发动机就会停转。

6 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

7 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

8 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。