赖世雄高级美国英语 lesson 20

　　Lesson 20， Scourge¹ of the Plains： Tornadoes³

　　平原之祸——－龙卷风

　　Ellen Mae stepped out of her two-story home in certral Illinois. "Fine morning，" sae said to herself after checking the weather， and then went back inside. The radio had mentioned a severe storm advisory⁴， but the sky was clear， and it was rather calm. Still， she decided⁵ to be safe and kept her radio on.

　　About noon she felt a strange kind of pressure. Looking out her window， she noticed the sky had become overcast⁶. Low， rounded， oddly colored clouds were forming. It was still and oppressive. "Maybe I'd better listen to the weather report again，" she murmured to herself.

　　Again the radio forecast severe weather， warning citizens to listen for the siren and seek shelter should a twister， scourge of the plains， come down from the heavens like a "Devil's tail." "I doubt it'll happen over Crossville，" she comforted herself. "It always happens in other towns."

　　By two o'clock it started to rain， and the wind picked up， too. The apple tree in front of Ellen Mae's house started to pitch back and froth violently. Her dogs started to bark and howl， and that was when she heard that awful sound.

　　At first she thought it was a locomotive， but she quickly remembered that there was no railroad within 20 miles of her home. She looked into the sky and then noticed it， a dark， swirling⁷ mass of back cloud sucking up everything it touched and hurling⁸ objects at horrific speeds straight up or straight to the side. Ellen Mae ran as fast as she could down into her storm cellar， a special room which had been prepared by her father when he was still alive. This room was located in the southwestern corner of the basement and had a door with a strong bolt. Ellen Mae ran in， locked the door behind her， and waited.

　　She didn't have long to wait. With shrieking⁹ and swooshing sounds right out of hell， the funnel¹⁰ cloud passed directly over her house. An enormous vacuum cleaner， the twister blew the house apart， scattering¹¹ five generations of Ellen Mae's family belongings¹² over half the rural country she lived in. Within minutes， the winds had stopped， and an eerie¹³ silence replaced the cacophony¹⁴ of moments earlier. Feeling it was now safe to venture out， Ellen Mae unbolted the door， peered out， and started to cry. She could look straight up into the sky. Even though she had lost her house and everything in it， she felt lucky. She knew that every year， hundreds of people could perish in tornadoes.

　　Just what are these "devil storms"？ They go by many names across the great Plains of the United States and Canada， not to mention many other countries around the world， but tornadoes are perennial¹⁵ plagues in central North America. The conditions there——flat land and proximity¹⁶ to cold air masses （from the Rocky Mountains to the west） and warm and humid air masses （from the Gulf¹⁷ of Mexico to the south） provide the optimum breeding ground for tornadoes. According to the US National Weather Service， tornadoes form from thunderclouds and can reach swirling speeds in excess of 600 kilometers per hour. They last from minutes to an hour or more and can blast their way across as much as 150 kilomiters of terrain¹⁸ at about 50 kilometers per hour. They vary in width from a few metres to 1500 meters （average 200 meters）。 And they strike fear into the hearts of everyone.

　　The safest place to be when a tornado² is in one's area is a basement， preferably the southwest corner （where the tornado normally comes from）。 If driving， track due north or south， as tornadoes usually move from west to eat. Weather prediction and tracking these days is far superior to earlier years， but tornadoes can appear without any warning at all， as a large one did right in the heart of Salt Lake City in 1999， leaving a trail of shocked， wounded， and dead as well as pulverized¹⁹ property.

　　Though relatively²⁰ few people have ever seen a tornado， those who have wish they hadn't. The "Finger of God" is nature's atmospheric²¹ fury at its worst.

 

1 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

2 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

3 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

4 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 overcast   

adj.阴天的，阴暗的，愁闷的；v.遮盖，（使）变暗，包边缝；n.覆盖，阴天

参考例句：

• The overcast and rainy weather found out his arthritis.阴雨天使他的关节炎发作了。
• The sky is overcast with dark clouds.乌云满天。

7 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

8 hurling   

n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• The boat rocked wildly, hurling him into the water. 这艘船剧烈地晃动，把他甩到水中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Fancy hurling away a good chance like that, the silly girl! 想想她竟然把这样一个好机会白白丢掉了，真是个傻姑娘！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 shrieking   

v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were all shrieking with laughter. 他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

11 scattering   

n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散

参考例句：

• The child felle into a rage and began scattering its toys about. 这孩子突发狂怒，把玩具扔得满地都是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The farmers are scattering seed. 农夫们在播种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

13 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

14 cacophony   

n.刺耳的声音

参考例句：

• All around was bubbling a cacophony of voices.周围人声嘈杂。
• The drivers behind him honked,and the cacophony grew louder.后面的司机还在按喇叭，且那刺耳的声音越来越大。

15 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

16 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

17 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

18 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

19 pulverized   

adj.[医]雾化的，粉末状的v.将…弄碎( pulverize的过去式和过去分词 )；将…弄成粉末或尘埃；摧毁；粉碎

参考例句：

• We pulverized the opposition. 我们彻底击败了对手。
• He pulverized the opposition with the force of his oratory. 他能言善辩把对方驳得体无完肤。 来自辞典例句

20 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

21 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。