Bushfires kill 93 in Australia

时间：2009-06-26 01:42:25

（单词翻译:单击）

Bushfires have killed at least 93 people, destroyed hundreds of houses and engulfed1 entire towns in Australia. The fires have occurred mostly in Victoria state, police said yesterday.

The country's worst bushfires have killed people trying to flee in cars or huddled2 in homes.

Fires tore through several rural towns north of Melbourne on Saturday night, destroying everything in their path. One family was forced to dive into a farm reservoir to survive; others cowered3 in a community shed while firefighters stood between them and a wall of flames.

"It rained fire," said one survivor4, showing his singed5 shirt. "We hid in the olive grove6 and watched our house burn."

The remains7 of charred8 cars littered the smoldering9 towns yesterday. Some were crumbled10 heaps after crashing into each other as their drivers frantically11 tried to escape the fires.

Police said the death toll12 could continue to rise because at least 20 people with serious burns are in hospital and the ruins of many houses are still to be searched. Thousands of firefighters are still battling scores of fires in Victoria and New South Wales states.

"We are just picking them up (the bodies) as we go through," a police spokesman said.

The previous worst bushfire tragedy was in 1983 when 75 people were killed in the "Ash Wednesday" wild blaze.

The Australian government has put the army on standby and set up emergency relief funds. But it faces some pressure from Greens lawmakers who have been urging it to toughen its climate-change policy to reduce the risk of more such disasters in summer.

Survivors13 said the Victorian inferno14 was as high as four stories, with blazes racing15 across the land like speeding trains. "It went through like a bullet," Darren Webb-Johnson, a resident of the small rural town of Kinglake, told Sky TV.

"The service station went, the take-away store across the road went, cylinders16 (exploded) left, right and center, and 80 percent of the town was razed17."

State broadcaster ABC showed pictures of the razed small town of Marysville. "Hell and its fury have visited the good people of Victoria," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said during a tour of the burnt-out region. "The nation grieves with Victoria."


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1 engulfed 52ce6eb2bc4825e9ce4b243448ffecb3     
v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
  • The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 huddled 39b87f9ca342d61fe478b5034beb4139     
挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
  • We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
  • We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。
3 cowered 4916dbf7ce78e68601f216157e090999     
v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 )
参考例句：
  • A gun went off and people cowered behind walls and under tables. 一声枪响，人们缩到墙后或桌子底下躲起来。
  • He cowered in the corner, gibbering with terror. 他蜷缩在角落里，吓得语无伦次。
4 survivor hrIw8     
n.生存者，残存者，幸存者
参考例句：
  • The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
  • There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。
5 singed dad6a30cdea7e50732a0ebeba3c4caff     
v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿]
参考例句：
  • He singed his hair as he tried to light his cigarette. 他点烟时把头发给燎了。
  • The cook singed the chicken to remove the fine hairs. 厨师把鸡燎一下，以便去掉细毛。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
6 grove v5wyy     
n.林子，小树林，园林
参考例句：
  • On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
  • The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。
7 remains 1kMzTy     
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。
8 charred 2d03ad55412d225c25ff6ea41516c90b     
v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦
参考例句：
  • the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
  • The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 smoldering e8630fc937f347478071b5257ae5f3a3     
v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 )
参考例句：
  • The mat was smoldering where the burning log had fallen. 燃烧的木棒落下的地方垫子慢慢燃烧起来。 来自辞典例句
  • The wood was smoldering in the fireplace. 木柴在壁炉中闷烧。 来自辞典例句
10 crumbled 32aad1ed72782925f55b2641d6bf1516     
（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏
参考例句：
  • He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
  • Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。
11 frantically ui9xL     
ad.发狂地, 发疯地
参考例句：
  • He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
  • She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。
12 toll LJpzo     
n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)
参考例句：
  • The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
  • The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。
13 survivors 02ddbdca4c6dba0b46d9d823ed2b4b62     
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
14 inferno w7jxD     
n.火海；地狱般的场所
参考例句：
  • Rescue workers fought to get to victims inside the inferno.救援人员奋力营救大火中的受害者。
  • The burning building became an inferno.燃烧着的大楼成了地狱般的地方。
15 racing 1ksz3w     
n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的
参考例句：
  • I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
  • The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。
16 cylinders fd0c4aab3548ce77958c1502f0bc9692     
n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物
参考例句：
  • They are working on all cylinders to get the job finished. 他们正在竭尽全力争取把这工作干完。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • That jeep has four cylinders. 那辆吉普车有4个汽缸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 razed 447eb1f6bdd8c44e19834d7d7b1cb4e6     
v.彻底摧毁，将…夷为平地( raze的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • The village was razed to the ground . 这座村庄被夷为平地。
  • Many villages were razed to the ground. 许多村子被夷为平地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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