ESL Podcast 495 – Describing Winds and Storms

Ali: It’s just our luck that as soon as we arrive here for our island vacation, there’s a hurricane warning!

Mariela: It’s uncanny, isn’t it? On last year’s vacation, we crossed paths with a tornado¹ and now this.

Ali: Yeah, that tornado was something. I had experienced windstorms before with really strong gusts² of wind, but it was nothing like that tornado. Do you remember the way all of the windows, doors, and even walls rattled³? The tornado blew down power lines and uprooted⁴ trees!

Mariela: That was terrifying. Do you think we’ll have another experience like that this time?

Ali: I really hope not. We came for ocean breezes, but if the hurricane makes landfall, we’ll have gale⁵ winds of up to 50 miles per hour!

Mariela: And we’re trapped here! What should we do?

Ali: We’ll just buckle⁶ down and wait it out. With any luck, the hurricane will miss the island altogether.

Mariela: With our luck, what’s the likelihood of that happening?!


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 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。

2 gusts   

一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作

参考例句：

• Her profuse skirt bosomed out with the gusts. 她的宽大的裙子被风吹得鼓鼓的。
• Turbulence is defined as a series of irregular gusts. 紊流定义为一组无规则的突风。

3 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

4 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

6 buckle   

n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲

参考例句：

• The two ends buckle at the back.带子两端在背后扣起来。
• She found it hard to buckle down.她很难专心做一件事情。