VOA常速英语2018--史上第三强飓风迈克尔重创美国

Mexico which has been hit by the strongest hurricane in its recorded history, parts of the coastal¹ town were completely flattened². Residents returning to see what’s left of their homes have to tread carefully among fallen trees, electric poles and debris³. Local police and federal emergency services are providing aid. Rescuers are still searching for survivors⁴. We have four canines⁵ with us. And we also then have to be prepared to take any victims that the rescue personnel locate in a collapse⁶. Mexico Beach Police Chief Anthony Kelly says, officers know a lot of residents personally. So for the officers because we are a closed town, it’s emotional to them. He says members of his staff and other emergency services have gone out of their way to help.

墨西哥遭受了有史以来火力最强的一次飓风，部分沿海城镇已经被夷为平地。当地的一些居民折返回来，想要看看家里还剩什么，但却只能小心翼翼地在折倒的树木、电线杆、残骸之间穿梭。当地警方和联邦应急服务机构也在提供援助。救援人员依然在搜寻幸存者。我们有4只警犬。此外，我们还得时刻准备好救治救援人员在废墟中确定的受害者。墨西哥海滩警察局长安东尼·凯利表示，很多救援人员跟当地的居民是熟识。所以对于这些工作人员来说，我们是紧密的一体，他们很难不抱有感情。他表示，其下属和其他应急服务机构也竭尽全力帮忙。

I had one officer from the fire department walked here, he walked about ten or twelve miles coming back in to help Mexico Beach. I had several other officers coming down from 386 right after the impact of the storm, digging their way in just to get help to the community. The most pressing issue currently is a shortage of clean water supply and a broken-down sewage system. But with the help, people have to be careful about is drinking water because the water is gonna be contaminated, so there’s going to be some hygiene⁷ issues and public health issues for a while till they get the sewage system and the water system up and going. And that may take some time. Survivors of previous hurricanes in Florida say the rebuilding of devastated⁸ communities took many years.

消防队的一位工作人员徒步来此，走了10-12英里回来，想要为墨西哥海滩尽点儿力。风暴侵袭后，我派几位工作人员从帕拉特卡赶来，排除艰难万阻，为社群贡献一份力。目前，最紧迫的问题就是清洁水供应短缺、污水处理系统出现故障。但有了大家的帮助，大家必须谨慎饮水，因为水资源可能受到污染。因此，一段时间里会出现一些卫生问题和公共卫生问题，除非排水系统和供水系统能得到建立和运行。这需要一段时间。佛州之前发生过几次飓风，其幸存者表示，社群支离破碎，其重建工作需要很多年才能完成。

Having lived through Hurricane Andrew in South Florida, it’s going to take a while because it’s just... it, it’s one day at a time. It.... it looks overwhelming to start, but you know, one day at a time, it’s gonna take years to get things back and up and running. When Hurricane Andrew struck in 1992, it was the most destructive storm to hit Florida until it was surpassed 25 years later by Hurricane Emma. Michael is the third most powerful hurricane to hit the continental⁹ United States.

在南佛罗里达经历了安德鲁飓风之后，还需要一段时日才可以，因为这件事无法一蹴而就。万事开头难，但大家都懂积少成多的道理，需要很多年才能恢复重建。1992年安德鲁飓风来袭，这是佛州历史上破坏力最强的风暴。其后25年出现的飓风艾玛更胜一筹 。而迈克尔则堪称美国大陆历史上第三强的飓风。

1 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。

2 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

3 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。

4 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

5 canines   

n.犬齿( canine的名词复数 )；犬牙；犬科动物

参考例句：

• For example, the teeth are more primitive. There are large canines and unusually shaped incisors. 譬如，牙齿更为原始，有大的犬齿和非常合适的门齿。 来自辞典例句
• Well-to-canines can attend doggy daycare centers while their owners work. 富人家的狗在主人上班的时候可以去狗狗托管中心。 来自互联网

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

8 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

9 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。