Strong earthquake hits S Chile, no casualties

    SANTIAGO, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- A strong earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale(里氏震级) rocked Araucania region, south of Chile, on Sunday. There were no reports of casualties（人员伤亡）.
    According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)（美国地质探测局）, the earthquake occurred at 5:20 p.m. local time (2020 GMT), with its epicenter at 16.9 kilometers deep, 70 kilometers north to Temuco city and some 595 kilometers south to Santiago, Chile's capital.
    Meanwhile, director of Chile's National Office of Emergency Vicente Nunez on Sunday rejected the risk of a tsunami¹.
    "To the moment there are not report of injured people and damage; only the telephone lines collapsed² and there were blackouts," Nunez said in a press conference.
    "Chile's Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Navy and the emergency office rejected the possibility of a tsunami," Nunez added.
    The earthquake was also felt in the Argentine localities of Bariloche and San Martin de los Andes, 1,630 and 1,673 km, respectively, southwest to Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital.
    So far, it is unknown the earthquake's intensity³ in Argentine, also there were not reported or rejected damage and victims.
    On Feb. 27, 2010, an earthquake measuring 8.8 shocked the center-south of Chile, followed by a tsunami, killing⁴ more than 500 people and leaving some 800,000 homeless.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。