美国龙卷风已使45人死亡_时事要闻

美国龙卷风已使45人死亡

文章来源：未知文章作者：enread 发布时间：2011-04-18 05:25 字体： [大中小]　进入论坛

(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Rescuers are searching for survivors¹ in North Carolina after three days of storms and tornadoes² in the American South killed at least 45 people.

美国南部地区持续三天的暴风和龙卷风使至少45人死亡，救援人员目前正在北卡罗来纳州搜寻生还者。

An emergency was declared in the state, which was hit by up to 62 tornadoes and suffered 21 deaths, the highest toll³ for any of the states affected⁴.

Deaths were also reported in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Georgia and Virginia.

The storms moved out over the Atlantic on Sunday.

Officials in North Carolina said the number of victims might increase further as rescue teams searched remote areas.

Hailstones the size of grapefruit（葡萄柚） were reported as the storms swept through the region, creating flash floods as well as tornadoes.

The storms first struck Oklahoma on Thursday before sweeping⁵ eastward⁶, and some parts saw their worst tornadoes in decades.

'Worse than Iraq'

More than 240 tornadoes were reported over the three days, including 62 in North Carolina, but the US National Weather Service's final numbers could be lower because some tornadoes may have been reported more than once.

Most of North Carolina's 21 confirmed deaths occurred in two rural counties - four in Bladen and 11 in Bertie.

Hitting Bertie about 1900 (2300 GMT) on Saturday, the storm swept some homes from their foundations and demolished⁷ others, flipping⁸ over cars.

At least three of those who died were from the same family.

One of the volunteers who searched the rubble⁹ was an Iraq war veteran who told county manager Zee Lamb he had been stunned¹⁰（震惊） by what he saw.

"He did two tours of duty in Iraq and the scene was worse than he ever saw in Iraq - that's pretty devastating," the county manager told the Associated Press news agency.

An estimated 200,000 homes in North Carolina were without power on Sunday.

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue said the number of tornadoes had been the highest since 1984, when tornadoes killed 42 people.

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收听单词发音

1 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

2 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

3 toll
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。

4 affected
adj.不自然的，假装的
参考例句：
She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。 His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 sweeping
adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的
参考例句：
The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。 Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

6 eastward
adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部
参考例句：
The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。 The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

7 demolished
v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光
参考例句：
The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。 They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

8 flipping
讨厌之极的
参考例句：
I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！ Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

9 rubble
n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾
参考例句：
After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。 After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

10 stunned
adj. 震惊的，惊讶的动词stun的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。 The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

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