VOA标准英语2011--Four Dead as Hurricane Irene Churns Up U

Four Dead as Hurricane Irene Churns Up US East Coast

Hurricane Irene continues to pound the U.S. East Coast with heavy rains and strong winds, leaving at least four people dead in its wake and paralyzing ground and air traffic.
U.S. officials say three people were killed in North Carolina and one in Virginia.
Irene blasted ashore¹ in North Carolina early Saturday, flooding streets and toppling trees with sustained winds of 140 kilometer per hour. Almost one million homes and businesses are without power.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the massive storm system is expected to continue moving north-northeast at about 24 kilometers per hour. Forecasters warned the category 1 storm would pass through the Washington, D. C., area during the evening and overnight hours without losing strength.
American Red Cross spokesperson Kate Meier is in North Carolina, and told VOA that even away from the coast, conditions are worrying.
"When I was driving to the shelter, a tree branch hit the windshield of my car, which was terrifying. Fortunately everything was okay, and that's what we're seeing here is some downed branches, but hopefully not a lot of damage in this immediate³ area. But knowing that I'm 150 miles [241 kilometers] inland and that it's that much worse on the coast is pretty frightening," said Meier. 
Along with organizations like the Red Cross, federal, state and local authorities have mobilized resources to confront the storm, which is on track to move up the U.S. East Coast.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said officials anticipate heavy rain, flooding and significant power outages throughout the region. There also is a threat of tornadoes⁴.
"Irene remains⁵ a large and dangerous storm. People need to take it seriously. People need to be prepared," she said.
Top emergency coordinators in Washington also got a visit Saturday from President Barack Obama.
"This is still obviously going to be a touch-and-go situation for a lot of communities," said the president.
Already there have been large-scale evacuations and thousands of flight cancellations.
In New York City, the entire public transit⁶ system, including subway trains and buses, shut down Saturday for the first time ever.
The storm is expected to reach the city and its surrounding areas on Sunday. Red Cross spokesman Steve Bayer is on New York's Long Island, where he said the organization is prepared with shelters that can care for thousands of people.
"We have registered nurses, and in some cases, even doctors. And we have a lot of mental health professionals that come to us, volunteer their time to work in our shelters, because it is a pretty heavy load for people who have left their house. They don't know where their animals are," said Bayer.
The Red Cross said its response to Irene could be one of the largest it has undertaken in recent memory.
The organization is responding in more than a dozen states, and said it could take weeks, even months, to be able to fully² address the disaster.
National Hurricane Center forecaster Todd Kimberlain said the problem with Irene is its path.
"It's dangerous in the sense that this part of the country is not used to receiving many hurricane strikes. In fact, New England has not received a hurricane strike in 20 years. [In] the mid-Atlantic states, the last hurricane was Isabel in 2003, so this is a significant weather system for this part of the country," he said.
Kimberlain also said Irene is not the strongest hurricane, and nowhere close to 2005's devastating⁷ Hurricane Katrina, but he says it is still capable of causing damage.

1 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 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。

4 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

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

7 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。