VOA常速英语2007-California Residents Confront Results of Wildfir

By Mike O'Sullivan
Ramona, California
27 October 2007

As firefighters continue to battle blazes in Southern California, many San Diego residents returned to neighborhoods once in the fires' path. Mike O'Sullivan reports from Ramona, outside San Diego, that some people have found their homes destroyed, while others have suffered little or no damage.

It is one of the paradoxes¹ of wildfires. One house can be destroyed while a neighbor's is left standing².

In the last few days, the wildfires have burned down 1,800 homes in California, 80 percent in San Diego.

For families returning from hotels and evacuation centers, the question of whether they would find their home still standing was soon answered.

One family on the outskirts³ of Ramona sifted⁴ through the rubble⁵ of their home.

Across the road, the house of Ernie Medina was left untouched, but his barn had burned to the ground.

Medina had stayed on his property as long as he could, defying authorities, but he says he was powerless as flames swept through last Sunday.  He escaped in his truck just in time.

"Embers were bouncing off me about golf ball size," he recalled.  "It was like being in a war, [it] is the only way I can explain it.  They were bouncing off me.  It looked like tracer bullets traveling about two to three feet off the ground."

In the nearby hills, a Mexican immigrant named Fernando escaped the fire with his family, and his house also survived the fire.  But flames destroyed a trailer on his property and a shed behind his house with construction tools.

He says he lost $8,000 in equipment.

Amid the burned out-trees on the other side of town, farmer George Schnurer is thankful his home is standing.

"The fire got very, very close to the house," he said.  "And through the efforts of the firefighters, they saved the houses, which I'm very grateful for."

On Friday, firefighters including Don Stasiowski got a welcome break, and expressions of gratitude⁶, after days of non-stop efforts.

"In those first early days, hours, you don't have much of a choice, because they don't have enough people down here yet, so you just have to keep working, and rest when you can, and just work," he noted⁷.

Also Friday, the community clinic was ready to reopen to help residents deal with breathing problems and other illnesses caused or worsened by the blazes.

Utility workers were getting electric power, water, and telephones working again.

Ramona resident Ron Newman says he has always been skeptical⁸ about officials in government, but is impressed with their response to this disaster.

"The whole system in general worked," he said.  "And, sure, there are going to be glitches⁹, and we're going to go back and see what we could have done better, but that's what a good, smart society does is learn from their mistakes.  And I'm telling you, I didn't see hardly any in this one."

But residents here in Ramona say it may take some time to get life back to normal.

1 paradoxes   

n.似非而是的隽语，看似矛盾而实际却可能正确的说法( paradox的名词复数 )；用于语言文学中的上述隽语；有矛盾特点的人[事物，情况]

参考例句：

• Contradictions and paradoxes arose in increasing numbers. 矛盾和悖论越来越多。 来自辞典例句
• As far as these paradoxes are concerned, the garden definitely a heterotopia. 就这些吊诡性而言，花园无疑地是个异质空间。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

4 sifted   

v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• She sifted through her papers to find the lost letter. 她仔细在文件中寻找那封丢失的信。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She sifted thistles through her thistle-sifter. 她用蓟筛筛蓟。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

6 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

9 glitches   

n.小过失，差错( glitch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Manufacturing glitches have limited the factory's output. 生产中的故障影响了该厂的产量。 来自辞典例句
• Another kind of period variation,\"Glitches,\" are seen in several pulsars. 在几个脉冲星中还看到了周期的另一种变化，即“自转突快”现象。 来自辞典例句