创新英语-Second Explosion at Japan Nuclear Plant

A second explosion has occurred at the nuclear power plant that was damaged in Friday’s catastrophic earthquake and tsunami¹. Nuclear reactor² 3 from the Fukushima plant suffered a similar explosion to that which hit reactor 1 on Saturday. Officials say the blast did not damage the casing which houses the uranium fuel rods in the reactor’s core. Experts believe the latest explosion was caused by a build-up of hydrogen in the building that covers the core. Japan’s prime minister Naoto Kan has told people there is no danger of a radioactive leak, but warned the situation to cool the reactors³ is still critical. He described recent events as "the biggest crisis Japan has encountered in the 65 years since the end of World War II".

Japan is beginning to understand more details of its tragedies. The death toll⁴ is slowly rising. Police found over 2,000 bodies on the coastline of Miyagi prefecture on Monday and at least ten thousand people are missing in the port town of Minamisanriku. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated⁵ from a 20-km radius⁶ of the Fukushima nuclear power plants – many fear they will never see their homes again. More than 22 Fukushima residents are being treated for the effects of exposure to radiation. The whole of Japan is extremely concerned about the ongoing⁷ crisis at the power plants. Experts say a disaster on the scale of Chernobyl is highly unlikely. Nevertheless, the quiet fear and panic experienced by the Japanese raise questions about nuclear safety.

1 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。

2 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

3 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

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 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

6 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。