VOA慢速英语2018 加州有史以来最大山火仍在蔓延

Largest Wildfire in California History Still Growing

The largest wildfire in California’s history continues to grow.Hot and windy conditions have tested firefighters across the state.

加州史上最大的山火仍在蔓延。炎热多风的天气状况考验着全州的消防人员。 

The Northern California fire by the Mendocino National Forest has now destroyed 1,178 square kilometers.That is nearly the size of Los Angeles.

加州北部门多西诺国家森林公园的山火已经导致1178平方公里土地被烧毁，这几乎和洛杉矶的面积相当。

The Mendocino fire continued to grow this week, even after it passed a record set only eight months ago.Last December, the Thomas fire destroyed 1,139 square kilometers in Southern California.It killed two people and burned more than 1,000 buildings.

本周，门多西诺的山火面积仍在继续蔓延，甚至在8个月前才刚创下了新的山火记录。去年12月，“托马斯火灾”烧毁了南加州1139平方公里的土地。这场山火造成两人死亡，1000多栋建筑被烧毁。

The Mendocino fire is mostly burning in remote areas.But officials say it threatens more than 11,000 buildings.Over the weekend, officials ordered more people to leave their homes.

门多西诺山火多发生在偏远地区。但有官员表示，山火威胁到超过1.1万栋建筑。周末，官员命令更多民众离开家园。

A spokesman¹ for the California Department of Forestry² and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said more than 14,000 firefighters are now battling major fires across the state.

加州林务消防局的发言人表示，目前超过1.4万名消防员参与全州的扑火行动。 

Another wildfire in Northern California has destroyed more than 1,000 homes in and around the city of Redding.Cal Fire said that wildfire started more than two weeks ago.It has killed two firefighters and four residents.It displaced³ more than 38,000 people.

加州北部的另一场山火已经烧毁了雷丁市区及周边1000多栋房屋。加州林务消防局表示，这场山火发生在两个多星期前，造成2名消防员和4名居民丧生，超过3.8万人流离失所。

U.S. President Donald Trump⁴ has declared a “major disaster” in the state.Trump also wrote on Twitter that the wildfires are growing because of “bad environmental laws.”He said the laws do not permit, in his words, “massive amount of readily⁵ available water to be properly utilized⁶.”

美国总统特朗普称，这场山火是加州的“重大灾难”。特朗普还在推特上表示，山火持续蔓延是因为“糟糕的环境法”。他说，该法律禁止“适当利用大量现成的水资源。”

A spokesman for Cal Fire did not comment on Trump’s tweet.But the spokesman did say that firefighters have enough water to fight the fires.

加州林务消防局的一位发言人并未评论特朗普的推特。但是这位发言人表示，消防员有充足的水扑灭山火。

Wildfire experts, environmental activists⁷ and some politicians say the state’s intense wildfires are linked to climate change.

山火专家、环保人士还有一些政治家表示，该州猛烈的山火与气候变化有关。 

The U.S. National Weather Service says firefighters will have to deal with temperatures as high as 43 degrees Celsius⁸ over the next few days.Strong winds may also strengthen the flames.

美国国家气象局表示，未来几天消防员将面临43摄氏度的高温。强风可能也会增强火势。 

Melissa Morgado’s husband is a firefighter in California.She wrote a blog about a year in the life of a California firefighter wife.

梅丽莎·摩尔加多的丈夫是一名加州的消防员。她写了一篇博客，在里面讲述了身为加州消防员妻子一年以来的生活。

She wrote, “My husband and I spent 256 days apart apart in 2017.This has been the hardest year to date.”

她写道：“2017年老公和我有256天分隔两地，这是迄今为止见面最难的一年。” 

1 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

2 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

3 displaced   

移动( displace的过去式和过去分词 )； 替换； 移走； 撤职

参考例句：

• Gradually factory workers have been displaced by machines. 工厂的工人已逐渐被机器取代。
• He was displaced by another young man. 他已被另一个年轻人顶替。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 readily   

adv.欣然地，容易地，很快地，立即

参考例句：

• I promise all costs will be readily returned.我保证所有的费用会迅速偿还。
• Most plastics do not readily conduct heat or electricity.大多数塑料不易传热或导电。

6 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。