VOA常速英语2008年-Tornadoes Wreak Havoc in Southern US States

By Greg Flakus
Chicago
06 February 2008

In a display of natural fury unusual for this time of year, tornadoes¹ and violent thunderstorms have killed at least 50 people in five south-central states. VOA's Greg Flakus reports.

Rescue crews are hard at work in a wide area hit by tornadoes overnight Tuesday.  In Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky storms killed and injured people and damaged homes and places of business. In many areas power lines are down and streets are filled with debris². 

One of the worst hit areas was Jackson, Tennessee, where local resident Michael Denny described what the storm's devastation³.

"Next thing I know, where they were, the windows were being shattered and the apartment complex up there they had a bench go through one window and some branches and a tree flipped⁴ over and I pulled it out with my truck and as I got done pulling it out of the roadway up there, a neighbour called me and said that my roof was out in the road," he said.

Eight students were trapped during the night in a heavily-damaged dormitory building on the campus of Union University in Jackson.  Some 50 students were hospitalized, but none were reported in serious condition.

A twister also destroyed many homes in Atkins, Arkansas, about 100 kilometers northwest of Little Rock. Among the dead there were an 11-year-old girl and her parents. Near Nashville, Tennessee, the storm damaged a natural gas-pumping station and caused a spectacular fire. In Memphis, storms tore off the roof of a Sears store and damaged warehouses⁵ and other buildings.

In Washington, President Bush promised federal help for the stricken areas.

"This administration is reaching out to state officials," he said.  "I just called the governors of affected⁶ states.  I wanted them to know that this government will help them, but more importantly, I wanted them to be able to tell the people in their states that the American people hold them.  Hold those who suffer up in prayer."

The storms hit during the Super Tuesday primaries and caused a disruption of voting in both Arkansas and Tennessee.  Some of the presidential candidates, including Democrats⁷ Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and Republican Mike Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, mentioned the storms in their election night speeches and expressed sympathy for the victims.

Weather experts say winter tornadoes are not unheard of, but that storms this early in February are somewhat rare.  Some studies indicate such storms are more frequent during years when the so-called La Nina effect is present in the Pacific Ocean.  Tornadoes usually occur from late winter through the summer months, but the violent windstorms struck areas from Illinois to Oklahoma on 8 January of this year and experts say they can happen anytime when the conditions are right.

1 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

2 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

3 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

5 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》