voa标准英语2008年-Australia Sets Up New Tsunami Warning System

Australia has introduced a tsunami¹ warning system, which experts hope will become an integral link in a network stretching across the Indian and Pacific oceans. The Australian Tsunami Warning Center will help provide a regional monitoring system for 29 countries on the rim² of the Indian Ocean. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

The Australian tsunami warning system is part of what officials hope will be a network of centers across the Indian Ocean that share scientific data.

Indonesia, which was badly hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami four years ago, is expected to have its own early warning mechanism³ working by the end of the year.
　

Baan Nam Khem, Khao Lak Phang Nga Province, Southern Thailand - hardest hit from Dec 26 tsunami

The Australian project is based in the southern city of Melbourne and relies on high technology deep sea buoys⁴. Five are in waters northwest of Australia, while others are off the continent's east coast in the Coral Sea. Additional buoys are further south in the Tasman Sea.

Barry Drummond from the government's Geoscience office says the new system will provide accurate information about the risks of giant waves.

"Rather than saying a tsunami is on its way and it may impact the coastline of whichever state, the center is now in a position to be able to say, along that coastline these areas are more susceptible⁵ than those and in these areas the threat will be to things in the water; swimmers, boats, harbors and that sort of things and within these other areas the tsunami may come ashore⁶ and then these are the areas that you have to worry about," explained Drummond. "So far more detail. It allows us not to over-warn and ensures we don't under-warn."

The sensitive monitoring equipment allows scientists to pinpoint⁷ the location of an earthquake that could trigger a tsunami, its depth and strength.
　

Tidal waves wash through houses at Maddampegama, about 60 kilometers south of Colombo, Sri Lanka

The Australian system also will provide sea level and seismic⁸ data to vulnerable island nations in the Pacific Ocean and also to authorities in Japan.

The epicenter of the undersea earthquake that triggered the December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami occurred off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia.

More than 200,000 people were killed in 11 countries. Many coastal⁹ areas were swamped by waves up to 30 meters high.

It was one of the world's worst natural disasters. Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka were hardest hit.

Unlike the Pacific, the Indian Ocean did not have a system to warn coastal communities that a tsunami was on the way.

In the aftermath of the 2004 disaster, scientists and governments began working on an alert network for the Indian Ocean region.

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

3 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

4 buoys   

n.浮标( buoy的名词复数 )；航标；救生圈；救生衣v.使浮起( buoy的第三人称单数 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• The channel is marked by buoys. 航道有浮标表示。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Often they mark the path with buoys. 他们常常用浮标作为航道的标志。 来自辞典例句

5 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

6 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

7 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

8 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

9 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。