VOA标准英语2010年-Rains Boost Hopes of Drought-Hit Austr

Parched¹ areas of New South Wales, Australia's most populous² state, have received their best rains in more than a decade, fueling hope the continent's worst drought in memory may finally be easing.  Vast tracts³ of land have been turned into inland lakes and dry rivers have begun to flow for the first time in years. 

Three months ago, this part of New South Wales was dry and barren.  The recent downpours have resuscitated⁴ land that was dying.  Out here near Forbes, on either side of the road heading to farm owned by Gary Johnston, there are green fields as far as you can see - a welcome boost to a beleaguered⁵ community.

"There are kids here that are eight-ten years old that have never seen rain of any consequence," he said.  "They have seen showers of rain but they have never seen any puddle⁶ or large water ponding.  That tells you how dry it is.  So farmers are pretty resilient generally and they have toughed it out for a long time but I think everyone was at breaking point and still are.  There is a lot of people in a lot of trouble.  We need to have significant follow-up rain to keep the whole thing moving along is a positive way."             

The rains have brought renewed vigor⁷ to this corner of the outback and the lawn mowers have been out in force.  Even the lake in the middle of Forbes is overflowing⁸ for the first time in years.  The ducks and kayakers have not had it so good in a long time and the sight of so much water is doing wonders for morale⁹.

At the Forbes High School, teachers say the wet conditions have improved the behavior and performance of students -- almost as if the rain has revitalized their minds.

Nicole Buttress¹⁰ and her 17-year-old classmate, Clayton Clarke, are enjoying the new green landscape.

"Seeing the children down at the lake with the water flowing over the road, it was kind of like a dream.  It was hard to believe with all the dryness and now it is just the water's flowing over the road.  The lakes are full, the dams are full and people are happy," said Nicole Buttress.   

"I was traveling home from Sydney the other day also and the distance that I traveled and the amount of green there is from Sydney to Forbes is quite lovely to see.  Yeah, it has put everyone's spirits on a bit of a high," says Clayton Clarke. 

It's just the lift this hard-pressed farming region has been crying out for.  Rates of depression have soared as the drought intensified¹¹.  Church groups say despite the gloom, the community has responded well to the challenges.

"Things like the drought really tests the mettle¹² of individuals and communities.  But it also highlights, I think, the strengths and nobility of the human spirit, where people really do care about one another at the end of the day," says Kel Hodge, a chaplain for Australia's Uniting Church.

Much more rain is needed if Australia's worst drought in 100 years is finally to be banished¹³.  Trevor Smith, a livestock¹⁴ farmer near Forbes, has studied the area's climate records that date back to 1874.

He believes history shows that the recent downpours are a very good sign.

"Going on that pattern, what has happened so far it looks as though it might be the beginning of the end but we need a flood.  We are not out of this drought until we have a flood," he said.

Does he think it's likely to happen this year?

"I think so, yeah.  I said that also probably four years ago too, I don't know.  When you are a farmer you live in, you now, hope.  You expect the next one to be a big one otherwise you wouldn't do it," he said.   

Other farmers, like Gary Johnston, are more cautious about the future.

"I am planning for on-going drought because you don't have continual disappointment if you expect it to stay dry, which has been the case for ten years.  If you get rain, I'll deal with that at the time and we'd be happy to receive it but I'm not preoccupied¹⁵ with it.  I think it is part of our job as farmers is to deal with what we actually have and we are doing the best we can," he said.

After the driest decade in memory, the recent drenching¹⁶ has given farmers near Forbes a glorious taste of what life could be like when the 'Big Dry' is finally over.

However, other drought-hit regions in southeastern Australia missed out on the recent rainstorms.  The federal government has extended emergency financial aid to struggling farmers in parts of New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.

 

1 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

2 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

3 tracts   

大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文

参考例句：

• vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
• There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。

4 resuscitated   

v.使（某人或某物）恢复知觉，苏醒( resuscitate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The doctor resuscitated the man who was overcome by gas. 医生救活了那个煤气中毒的人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She had been literally rejuvenated, resuscitated, brought back from the lip of the grave. 她确确实实返老还童了，恢复了精力，被从坟墓的进口处拉了回来。 来自辞典例句

5 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。

7 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

8 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

9 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

10 buttress   

n.支撑物；v.支持

参考例句：

• I don't think they have any buttress behind them.我认为他们背后没有什么支持力量。
• It was decided to buttress the crumbling walls.人们决定建造扶壁以支撑崩塌中的墙。

11 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 mettle   

n.勇气，精神

参考例句：

• When the seas are in turmoil,heroes are on their mettle.沧海横流，方显出英雄本色。
• Each and every one of these soldiers has proved his mettle.这些战士个个都是好样的。

13 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 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