澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-02-03

 Cyclone¹ Yasi has been further downgraded to a category 3 storm, but has still left a trail of destruction in its wake. Mission Beach, Tully, Cardwell and Innisfail are among the worst-hit communities. Early reports coming out of Tully say the town has been devastated² with roofs torn from houses and power poles knocked over. Innisfail has also been badly hit. It was almost wiped out by Cyclone Larry five years ago. 

 

More than 170,000 properties across north Queensland have been plunged³ into darkness. When Yasi crossed the coast near Mission Beach south of Innisfail early this morning, it was a category 5 storm. It's now heading inland towards Charters Towers and Georgetown with winds of up to 100km/h expected there.

 

And the other major story this morning is of course the situation in Egypt. The centre of Cairo has exploded into violence. Hundreds of people have been injured as anti-government protesters clashed with supporters of President Hosni Mubarak. Stones, bottles and petrol bombs have rained down on Cairo's main square as both sides fight each other. Security forces have done nothing to stop the fighting. The White House has condemned⁵ the violence and is calling for restraint from all sides.

 

A huge storm has hit large parts of the United States. The wintry blast affected⁶ 30 states. The Midwest copped the brunt of the storm. Wild winds lashed⁴ Chicago and the city was blanketed in around 42 centimetres of snow. More than 300,000 people lost power and thousands of airline passengers were stranded⁷.

1 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

2 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

3 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

4 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

6 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。

7 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。