VOA标准英语2011--Massive Tropical Storm Brings Death, Flo

Massive Tropical Storm Brings Death, Flooding to US East Coast

Days after withstanding a rare earthquake, large swaths of the densely¹ populated U.S. East Coast have weathered Irene, a once-powerful hurricane later downgraded to a tropical storm. Irene drenched² New York Sunday after coming ashore³ over coastal⁴ areas farther south. At least 18 deaths are blamed on the storm, which prompted a massive mobilization of federal, state and local governments.
For three days, Irene pummeled the U.S. East Coast with high winds and torrential rains. Although no communities were obliterated⁵, destruction is widespread over thousands of square kilometers with flooding, downed trees, damaged homes, power outages and impassable roads.
One Washington D.C. resident, who identified himself as Leonard, survived a harrowing night with his family after a giant tree fell on his home.
“It seemed like a pretty tame storm, and then all of a sudden these big oak trees started falling down on houses," he said. "[I was] very scared. I have two little kids, a two-and-a-half year-old and a one-year-old.”
Untold⁶ numbers of travelers were stranded⁷ amid thousands of canceled flights. Irene prompted New York City’s first-ever subway closure due to a natural event.
But stoic⁸ New Yorkers seemed to take the storm in stride, including grocery store owner Faris Algabbon.
“Everybody buys a lot of stuff - for nothing. Nothing happened," he said. "We only closed for a couple hours. Now we are open, and now we are good to go.”
Unlike last week’s sudden earthquake, Irene's arrival was anticipated days in advance. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg had a simple message for residents.
“Everyone should be prepared to go inside and stay inside,” he said.
In many areas, a prolonged period of clean-up and recovery awaits.
“We do not know how much damage has been done, how many trees are down on [train] tracks across New Jersey⁹," said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. "Clearing trees from our roadways.”
From Washington, a promise of federal assistance, and a warning issued by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
“We are not out of the woods [safe from potential harm] yet," she said. "Irene remains¹⁰ a large and potentially dangerous storm. Hazards still persist in communities that have already seen the storm pass.”
Hurricane or no, some events would not be postponed¹¹, including one New York wedding. A beaming bride, Sammy Miller¹², spoke¹³ from the steps of her church. “It is too important of a day to miss,” she said.
And some babies could not wait to be born. In a Wilmington, North Carolina hospital, Kristen Elliot cradled her infant daughter. "I just kind of felt that she [the baby] was going to come right during the hurricane,” she said.
Irene’s remnants are expected to dissipate over Canada later Monday.

1 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

2 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

5 obliterated   

v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭

参考例句：

• The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。
• He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 untold   

adj.数不清的，无数的

参考例句：

• She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
• They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

7 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

8 stoic   

n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者

参考例句：

• A stoic person responds to hardship with imperturbation.坚忍克己之人经受苦难仍能泰然自若。
• On Rajiv's death a stoic journey began for Mrs Gandhi,supported by her husband's friends.拉吉夫死后，索尼亚在丈夫友人的支持下开始了一段坚忍的历程。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 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。

11 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

12 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。