2006年VOA标准英语-San Franciscans Mark 100th Anniversary of

By Mike O'Sullivan
San Francisco
10 April 2006

April 18, San Franciscans will remember one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, the Great Earthquake of 1906. Local officials say it is a time for commemoration, and preparation.

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Downtown San Francisco   
  

Thousands will gather in the city center just after 5:00 am on Tuesday, April 18, to remember victims of the Great Earthquake. Organizers say they will also celebrate the heroism¹ of the survivors².

One hundred years ago, the first tremors³ struck at 5:12 in the morning, and the region shook violently for one minute.

A center of culture and commerce, San Francisco was then known as the Paris of the West. Just hours earlier, Italian tenor⁴ Enrico Caruso had appeared in the opera Carmen at the city's opera house.

The singer later recalled trembling with fear as he looked out of the window of his room at the Palace Hotel. He saw buildings topple and masonry⁵ fall, and heard the screams of men, women and children.

Historian Eileen Keremitsis is a volunteer guide who recounts the tragic⁶ story for visitors. The quake was massive, at magnitude 7.8 and was centered just off the coast close to the city. The shaking damaged or destroyed thousands of buildings over a wide area, but Keremitsis says most of the devastation⁷ was caused by fires that burned uncontrolled for three days.

"They burn, and they burn, and they burn," said Eileen Keremitsis. "The fires are not finally out until Saturday."

Presidio display   
  
The commanding general at the nearby Presidio army base sent troops to help police maintain order. The mayor gave orders to shoot looters on sight.

The earthquake and fires claimed at least 3,000 lives, and left more than 200,000 homeless.

The recovery operation began almost immediately. The army provided tents, and local officials commissioned huts to house the homeless. Several are on display at the old Presidio army base, which is now a national park.

Park Ranger⁸ Will Elder points out two tiny shacks⁹, still painted in their original olive-green color.

1906 quake shacks   
  
"You can look into one of them here," said Will Elder. "There were originally about 5,600 of these built in the city parks, and there were about 16,000 people that lived in them."

Today, visitors to San Francisco's Legion of Honor museum can get a glimpse of San Francisco in the days after the earthquake in a photographic display that juxtaposes pictures from the disaster with images from the city 100 years later.

Curator Karin Breuer says the spirit of San Francisco shines through the photographs, some taken as the fires were still smoldering¹⁰. Several show evacuees¹¹ in makeshift camps, and she says they seemed remarkably¹² cheerful.

"There is no evidence in any of the photos of people who look to be unassisted, unaided or uninvolved in their recovery," said Karin Breuer. "In fact, many of the photos show people standing¹³ in lines, waiting. Children are playing outside of tents in tent camps."

The camps for evacuees were closed by 1907, and historian Randolph Delehanty says the city was rebuilt quickly.

"Essentially¹⁴, the downtown was back by 1909," said Randolph Delehanty. "That is all the skyscrapers¹⁶, all the banks, the department stores, the hotels, the core, the area around what is now our skyscraper¹⁵ district and Union Square. There was a three-year incredible building boom."

Earthquakes are caused by a complex network of fault lines that lie beneath the earth's surface. As pressure builds on the fault lines, the ground shifts to relieve it. The resulting motion can be violent.

David Schwartz   
  
The 1906 quake was caused by a rupture¹⁷ along the San Andreas Fault that occurred beneath the ocean floor just west of the city. Other major fault lines crisscross the area, and scientist David Schwartz says the next big quake could well occur on the Hayward fault, east of San Francisco. He stands astride a crack that marks the fault line.

"We are in the city of Hayward, which the Hayward fault has been named for," said David Schwartz. "And if you look around, you might see something on the ground. You might see some cracks."

The cracks extend through a nearby building, which could well be torn apart when the next quake comes. Major earthquakes occur on this fault line approximately every 150 years. It has been 138 years since the last one.

There are cyclical patterns to earthquakes, but scientists say the patterns are variable and that quakes cannot be forecast with any precision. Ralph Archuleta is deputy director of the Southern California Earthquake Center. Cities can evacuate¹⁸ if a hurricane is approaching, but he says earthquakes give no warning.

"The problem is that we do not have any direct evidence that earthquakes are predictable," said Ralph Archuleta.

San Francisco officials say preparedness is the key to surviving the next big one. 
 

Quake emergency kit  
  
Eileen Keremitsis believes she is ready. Like thousands of residents, she has taken an earthquake safety course from the fire department, and has stockpiles of food and water. She says she does not let the risk interfere¹⁹ with day-to-day living, however.

"Earthquakes can happen any old time," she said. "So after a while, if you pay too much attention to it, then you are just overwhelmed. And so most of us, I think, take a deep breath and go on with our lives."

Local officials hope to use this anniversary to heighten public awareness²⁰ of the ongoing²¹ risk from earthquakes. They say it is only a matter of time before the next big one strikes.

1 heroism   

n.大无畏精神，英勇

参考例句：

• He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
• Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。

4 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

5 masonry   

n.砖土建筑；砖石

参考例句：

• Masonry is a careful skill.砖石工艺是一种精心的技艺。
• The masonry of the old building began to crumble.旧楼房的砖石结构开始崩落。

6 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

7 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

9 shacks   

n.窝棚，简陋的小屋( shack的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They live in shacks which they made out of wood. 他们住在用木头搭成的简陋的小屋里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most people in Port au-Prince live in tin shacks. 太子港的大多数居民居住在铁皮棚里。 来自互联网

10 smoldering   

v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mat was smoldering where the burning log had fallen. 燃烧的木棒落下的地方垫子慢慢燃烧起来。 来自辞典例句
• The wood was smoldering in the fireplace. 木柴在壁炉中闷烧。 来自辞典例句

11 evacuees   

n.被疏散者( evacuee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Moreover, for multi-exits, evacuees select a exit based on game theory. 在有多个出口时，疏散人员根据对策论选择出口。 来自互联网
• Evacuees wade through flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar on Saturday, July 31, 2010. 撤离灾区涉水通过后在白沙瓦沉重的季风降雨在周六，2010年7月31日。 来自互联网

12 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

13 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。

14 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

15 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

16 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

17 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

18 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

19 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

20 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

21 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。