VOA双语新闻 Tropical Storm Frances Hits Northwest Florida

After crossing the Florida peninsula and coastal¹ portions of the Gulf² of Mexico, Tropical Storm Frances struck the Florida panhandle. Frances, an extremely slow-moving storm caused heavy flooding and at least two deaths in Florida. The storm also caused several deaths in the Bahamas. Initial damage estimates indicate that Frances did not cause the sort of damage that Hurricane Charley inflicted³ last month in parts of southwest Florida.

热带飓风“弗朗西斯”在越过佛罗里达半岛以及墨西哥湾沿海地区后，袭击了佛罗里达州北部的一个狭长地带。移动极其缓慢的“弗朗西斯”使佛罗里达州洪水严重泛滥，并导致至少两人死亡。另外，这个风暴还在巴哈马造成数人死亡。最初估计的损失情况表明，“弗朗西斯”风暴并没有造成“查利”飓风造成的破坏。“查利”飓风上月袭击佛罗里达西南和中部部分地区。

The storm system known as Frances moved into the southeastern United States after drenching⁴ Florida with more than 30 centimeters of rain.

这个被称为“弗朗西斯”的风暴系统目前已经移动到美国的东南地区。此前，“弗朗西斯”风暴在佛罗里达倾泄了三十多厘米的降雨。

Heavy winds associated with the storm brought down trees and power lines as the storm moved in from the Atlantic Ocean and across the state. Cragin Mosteller a spokesperson for Florida's Department of Emergency Operations says Frances left so much debris⁵ in its path, that Floridians should exercise caution before leaving their shelters.

风速十分猛烈的这次风暴从大西洋进入并横扫佛罗里达州，刮倒许多树木和输电线路。佛罗里达州紧急救援部门发言人莫斯泰勒说，“弗朗西斯”所经之处，一片狼籍。佛罗里达民众在离开临时蔽护所前应该保持谨慎。

"Well right now our top priority is making sure that residents and people know they should stay where they are," she said. "We have many people evacuated⁶ to other states and throughout our state and we are working to clear the roads and make it safe for them, but at this point it is not. The majority of casualties happen following a storm, not during a storm, and so we are asking people to stay in place and stay safe. Stay out of standing⁷ water that can have downed power lines or sharp debris."

莫斯泰勒说：“目前我们的当务之急是努力确保居民和民众知道，他们应该继续呆在避难所。有许多人已被疏散到了其他州。我们目前正在全州境内努力清理道路，以使这些道路能给民众带来安全。不过目前，这些道路并不安全。伤亡的大部份是在风暴后，而不是在风暴过程事发生的。因此我们提请民众原地不动，注意安全。不要到积水中去，那里可能有刮倒的电线，或锋利的瓦砾碎片等。”

Frances took several days to reach Florida and more than 80,000 people spent several days in shelters, first waiting for the storm to arrive, and then waiting for it to pass. Typical of many was one man who told a television interviewer of his frustration⁸ waiting in a shelter for several days.

“弗朗西斯”飓风用了几天时间才抵达达佛罗里达，八万多人在蔽护所里度过了数天。他们先是等候风暴的到来，接着又在等候风暴的过去。这名男子是他们当中很典型的一个，他在接受一家电视台采访时谈到了连续数天在蔽护所内等待时的沮丧心情。

"It is just becoming a hassle, with work and my schedule being ruined by the storm," he said. "Plans get canceled and it just gets in the way."

这名男子说：“这次风暴搞乱了我的工作和计划安排，情况真是越来越糟糕。许多计划被取消，耽误了我许多事情。”

Frances was the second major hurricane to strike Florida in less than a month, but it did not cause the sort of catastrophic damage that Hurricane Charley inflicted on parts of southwest Florida in August.

“弗朗西斯”是不到一个月时间内袭击佛罗里达的第二个主要飓风，但是“弗朗西斯”并没造成“查利”飓风8月袭击佛罗里达西南地区时所造成的那种灾难性损失。

After Frances struck, President Bush declared Florida a disaster area, making storm-hit residents eligible⁹ for federal aid. About 8,000 Florida National Guard troops have been mobilized to assist in recovery efforts and prevent looting.

“弗朗西斯”袭击过后， 布什总统宣布佛罗里达为灾区，从而使得遭受风暴袭击的居民有资格获得联邦援助。约八千名佛罗里达国民警卫队协助救灾工作，并防止抢劫事件的发生。

More than one million Floridians are without power, and authorities say it will be days before power is restored to some areas. Cragin Mosteller of Florida's Department of Emergency Operations says Floridans are focusing on recovering from both hurricanes.

目前约有一百多万佛罗里达州居民没有电力供应。有关当局说，一些地方的电力恢复将需要数天时间。佛罗里达紧急行动部门的莫斯泰勒表示，佛罗里达居民目前集中努力从两次飓风中恢复过来。

"You know the storms were different," she said. "Frances moved very slowly, and Charley moved a little bit more quickly. Right now we are focusing on recovery efforts from both storms."

莫斯泰勒说：“风暴与风暴是不同的。‘弗朗西斯’风暴的速度非常缓慢，而‘查利’飓风的速度要快一点。目前我们正在全力以赴从两次风暴中恢复过来。”

Floridans are also keeping an eye on the Caribbean where Hurricane Ivan is now threatening the islands of the eastern Caribbean. Forecasters say Ivan could follow the path of Frances and threaten The Bahamas and Florida by the end of the week.

佛罗里达居民目前正在注视加勒比海的情况。那里出现的“伊万”飓风目前正在威胁加勒比海东部的一些岛屿。气象预报说，“伊万”飓风有可能沿着“弗朗西斯”的路径，将于周末威胁巴哈马和佛罗里达。
 
 

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

4 drenching   

n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• A black cloudburst was drenching Siena at midday. 中午，一场天昏地暗的暴风雨在锡耶纳上空倒下来。 来自辞典例句
• A drenching rain poured down and the rising hurricane drove it in sheets along the ground. 一阵倾盆大雨泼下来了，越来越大的狂风把它顺着地面刮成了一片一片的雨幕。 来自辞典例句

5 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

6 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。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

9 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。