美国有线新闻 CNN 北极冷空气席卷美国 或将创同期最冷纪录

 

If you're viewing this show from the eastern United¹ States, you already know what we're starting with. Arctic² air has blown in and shattered³ records all over the country. Meteorologists say roughly⁴ 70 percent of the U.S. population, around 240 million people woke up to subfreezing temperatures on Wednesday morning. From the Great Plains to the Midwest to the Eastern seaboard and the American south, the Weather Channel says more than 300 records have been set for cold temperatures this week.

They range from below zero measurements⁵ in Nebraska and Iowa to single digit⁶ temperatures in parts of Texas, North Carolina and Vermont. It's not that it's never been this cold before in these places. It's that since record keeping began in the 1800s', scientists say it's never been this cold this early in the season. We're still 37 days from the official start of winter. Hundreds of flights headed into and out of Chicago were cancelled because of dangerous conditions. Snow has been in the forecast from Colorado to Maine and while things are supposed to warm up a bit as the week goes on, forecasters say temperatures will still be 10 to 20 degrees below average.

The National Weather Service compared this artic blast⁷ to an event from 1911 called "The Great Blue Norther". That cold front also hit in November and it caused incredible⁸ drops in the temperature with places like Oklahoma City plunging⁹ from 83 degrees in the afternoon to 17 degrees that night. On Tuesday morning 108 years later, it was 16 degrees in Oklahoma City.

1 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

2 Arctic   

adj.北极的；n.北极

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• The sort of animal lived in the Arctic Circle.这种动物生活在北极圈里。

3 shattered   

破碎的； 极度疲劳的

参考例句：

• He dropped the vase and it shattered into pieces on the floor. 他失手把花瓶掉到地板上摔碎了。
• The experience left her feeling absolutely shattered. 她在这次经历之后，感到彻底垮了。

4 roughly   

adv.概略地，粗糙地，粗鲁地

参考例句：

• If you treat your coat so roughly,it will be worn out soon.你如果这么糟蹋你的外套，它很快就不能穿了。
• The island is roughly circular in shape.这个岛屿大致是圆形的。

5 measurements   

n.量度( measurement的名词复数 )；测量；衡量；（量得的）尺寸

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first. 第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In the metric system, measurements are made in metres and liters. 在公制中，用米和升作计量单位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。

7 blast   

v.炸毁，摧毁；n.爆炸，爆破，一阵，汽笛声

参考例句：

• A huge bomb blast rocked central London last night.昨晚一次剧烈的炸弹爆炸震动了伦敦市中心。
• Not until last week was the project in full blast.工程直到上星期才全部开工。

8 incredible   

adj.难以置信的，不可信的，极好的，大量的

参考例句：

• Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
• Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。

9 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》