2006年VOA标准英语-Thousands Flee Homes in Eastern Europe to

By Stefan Bos
Budapest
17 April 2006
 

Scene of flooding in Romania
  
  
Thousands of people are being evacuated¹ across Eastern Europe because of heavy flooding. Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria and Hungary have declared a state of emergency in flood-stricken regions.

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As the floodwaters keep rising, officials in Romania are sounding alarms to warn villagers who live close to the Danube River that they must leave their homes. Many days of heavy rain and the melting of this winter's record snows have combined to send the Danube, the region's largest river, to the highest levels in more than 100 years.

On Monday, over three-thousand people were evacuated from the village of Rast and surrounding territory in southern Romania after the river breached² a dam and flooded the area.

In many parts of the Balkans, beleaguered³ emergency crews and soldiers are struggling to keep embankments and sand barriers from giving way.

More than 44,000 hectares in southern Romania's wheat and corn growing regions are already under water. Officials say they will flood another 26,000 hectares this week to help protect heavily populated areas. Many people in the affected⁴ areas are poor farmers living in rundown homes without insurance.

In neighboring Bulgaria, several port cities have been flooded. In Serbia several towns and villages are also trying to cope with floods. Even parts of the capital, Belgrade, located near the Sava River and the Danube, have been submerged, including the city's ancient fortress⁵.

Hungary is also suffering under heavy flooding. Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurscany has rushed to oversee⁶ rescue efforts in central Hungary because of the flooding along the country's second largest river, the Tisza.

Mr. Gyurcsany, speaking in the central town of Szolnok, urges people to remain calm. He says he is confident that the floods will be contained and that the government has earmarked enough funds to supply emergency aid.

Flooding in the Balkans last year left dozens of people dead. This year officials in the region say they are doing all they can to keep the death toll⁷ down.

1 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。

2 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

3 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

6 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

7 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。