美国有线新闻 CNN 2015-04-29

 Parts of Southeastern Asia are reeling from a natural disaster that struck over the weekend. It's where we start this Monday on CNN Student News.

 

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake violently shook the region on Saturday. Its epicenter, the point on the ground directly above the quake, was 50 miles northwest of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, and it was relatively¹ shallow, which made it more damaging. Journalists say there's rubble² everywhere in Kathmandu. Landscapes, cityscapes have been altered. The quake and a strong 6.7 magnitude aftershock that hit on Sunday, killed at least 2,500 people. Most of the victims were in Nepal, though dozens also died in India and Tibet.

 

The tremors³ shook boulders⁴ and snow on Mount Everest, causing avalanches⁵, killing⁶ at least 17 climbers there and stranding⁷ some others.

 

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. International aid and rescuers were headed there from neighboring China and India and from as far away as Australia and the U.S. CNN's Impact Your World site has a list of some of the organizations that are helping⁸. A link to that is at cnnstudentnews.com.

 

As rescue and recovery efforts continue in Nepal, some terrified survivors⁹ are spending their nights outside, as officials find victims in the rubble of businesses and homes old and new.

 

"I'm from Kathmandu. I have a lot of family members there, a lot of friends. Kathmandu is a very congested city. There's officially, the number is about a million people live there, but unofficially, many government officials I will tell you about four to five million people live in the Kathmandu Valley area. A lot of the buildings are built very close to each other.

 

In Nepal, people always talk about this impending¹⁰ earthquake. So the experts had always warned that every 60 to 70 years, there will be a major earthquake in Kathmandu. Now, the last major one, a magnitude about 8.4 on the Richter scale, that was about, that was back in 1934. So an earthquake was almost overdue¹¹.

 

In terms of preparation, when you talk about the hospitals, when you talk about the military, when you talk about just people in general, I'm not sure that many people were prepared. Now, the government the past two years said that most of the buildings, new constructions have to be earthquake-proof. But those building codes are not followed very strictly¹².

 

And a lot of people in Kathmandu don't even realize how many people have died right now. They're just, you know, trying to fend¹³ for themselves. What really stood out to me, you know, when I saw those pictures, is the, the historical buildings. These are buildings that have withstood so many earthquakes. They're sort of the cultural symbols of Nepal. We're talking about Dharahara, which is the, the long, the tall white tower nine stories high. This was an iconic building in Kathmandu. It's, you know, it's like the Eiffel Tower of Nepal. The loss to the cultural heritage is huge. There are these four UNESCO national heritage sites completely demolished¹⁴."

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 avalanches   

n.雪崩( avalanche的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The greatest dangers of pyroclastic avalanches are probably heat and suffocation. 火成碎屑崩落的最大危害可能是炽热和窒息作用。 来自辞典例句
• Avalanches poured down on the tracks and rails were spread. 雪崩压满了轨道，铁轨被弄得四分五裂。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 stranding   

n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The airport had to be closed, stranding tourists. 机场被迫关闭，造成游客滞留。 来自辞典例句
• The stream of history had changed course away from him, stranding him in failure. 历史潮流已经改变方向，与他背道而驰，使他陷于失败之中。 来自辞典例句

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 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

10 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

11 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

12 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

13 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

14 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。