Indonesia quake search stepped up

Rescuers in Indonesia are searching the rubble¹ of collapsed² buildings for survivors³（幸存者） after a powerful earthquake, with the toll⁴ expected to rise.

At least 44 people are confirmed dead and thousands of homes ruined after the 7.0-magnitude quake hit on Wednesday.

More than 300 people have been injured and dozens are still missing.

Indonesian officials say heavy rescue equipment has arrived in the Javanese city of Cianjur, where many people are feared buried by a landslide⁵.

Elsewhere, police, military （军队）personnel and villagers are using their bare hands to try to reach survivors buried in the rubble.

Desperate search

Thousands of buildings have collapsed in Cianjur, about 100km (62 miles) south of Jakarta, and the nearby town of Tasikmalaya.

Priyadi Kardono, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said the toll could "change significantly" given the scale of damage, reports Reuters news agency.

"We are still searching for the survivors who might be buried under their houses or buildings," another disaster management agency employee, Maman Susanto, told AFP news agency.

"About 18,000 houses and buildings have been damaged," he said.

Rescue efforts are being hampered⁶ as several roads have been badly damaged, the BBC's Karishma Vaswani reports from the area.

As a result, heavy digging equipment has not reached the hardest-hit villages, she adds.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is due to visit the area later on Thursday.

Communications links to settlements on the south coast were broken by the quake, so the extent of damage and casualties（伤亡） is not yet known.

Fear and uncertainty⁷

 

In pictures: Indonesia earthquake 'The whole building was shaking'

About 5,000 people have reportedly sought shelter in makeshift tents. "They have taken refuge not only because their houses were ruined, but also because they fear there will be aftershocks," said local official Obar Sobarna.

The quake epicentre was about 115km off the south coast of Java, near Tasikmalaya.

Mudslides have inundated⁸ homes, collapsed rooftops and damaged properties in Tasikmalaya, including the mayor's home and a mosque⁹.

The tremors¹⁰ were felt in the capital, Jakarta, 200km to the north, where hundreds fled into the streets from offices and shops.

A local tsunami¹¹ alert was issued but revoked¹² shortly afterwards.

The quake was also felt 500km away from its epicentre in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, and on the resort island of Bali.

In December 2004, an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people around Asia.

Our correspondent says memories of the 2004 disaster are still fresh in the minds of people.

She says the Indonesian government has implemented¹³ an early warning system for tsunamis¹⁴ since then, but it is not fully¹⁵ operational yet.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the most active areas for earthquakes and volcanic¹⁶ activity in the world.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 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。

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 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

4 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。

5 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

6 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

8 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

10 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。

11 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。

12 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

13 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

14 tsunamis   

n.海啸( tsunami的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our oceans are alive with earthquakes, volcanoes, and more recently, tsunamis. 海中充满着地震、火山，包括最近发生的海啸。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• Please tell me something more about tsunamis! 请您给我讲讲海啸吧！ 来自辞典例句

15 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

16 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。