Europe Continues to Suffer Severe Winter Weather

 　　severe winter weather continues to dominate in many European countries with air and road travel disrupted and gas supples¹ running low.

　　The hardest hit country is Ukraine, where temperatures as low as minus 32 degrees Celsius² have left at least 122 people dead.  Oleksandr Heits, head of a rescue unit in Kiev, said many of the victims are homeless citizens of Ukraine's capital. "There are many homeless people coming here. It is minus 20 to minus 25 degrees Celsius outside. We're heating them up with tea. Some of them are staying for a night here. We're heating, feeding them and then they leave. Some citizens are bringing clothes and food for the homeless," he said.

　　Snow and extremely low temperatures have also gripped the Balkans, where many people are trapped in their homes or vehicles and six have been reported dead.  The government of Bosnia-Herzegovina declared a state of emergency Saturday.   In parts of coastal³ Croatia, where snow is very rare, army units were deployed⁴ to rescue trapped citizens.

　　Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom says that it has been unable to satisfy gas shortages in at least eight European nations, ranging from Italy to Poland.

　　Further south, Rome, the Italian capital, is suffering from the heaviest snow fall in decades.  Authorities have been forced to close several tourist sites, including the Colosseum and the Roman Forum⁵.

　　Hundreds of people were rescued Saturday from a ferry that got stuck off Italy's Civitavecchia port, a frightening experience as described by some passengers.

　　"We were transferred from the ship to another, in the cold of the night, we were freezing, they made us get off the ship in conditions of a clear emergency, over planks⁶, with the sea on our left, with the snow and the ice, without life jackets because there weren't any, not even in the cabins, among other things. I'm speechless," said one passenger.

　　Authorities at London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest, have announced a 30 percent decrease in flights as that city braces⁷ for as much as 15 centimeters of snow predicted to fall later on Saturday.

　　Electricity was cut off in many snow bound places across Europe.

　　The Siberian cold front that has much of Europe in its grip is expected to ease next week.

1 supples   

使柔软，使柔顺（supple的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

2 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

3 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。

4 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

5 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

6 planks   

（厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点

参考例句：

• The house was built solidly of rough wooden planks. 这房子是用粗木板牢固地建造的。
• We sawed the log into planks. 我们把木头锯成了木板。

7 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。