VOA标准英语2008年-Hurricane Dolly Makes Landfall in Southern Texa

Hurricane Dolly made landfall just north of Brownsville, Texas as a Category Two storm with winds more than 160 kilometers per hour and heavy rains. Although Dolly passed over some oil and gas rigs in the Gulf¹ of Mexico, the hurricane had minimal² impact on energy production. VOA's Greg Flakus has more from Houston.

Strong winds and rain are pummeling the Brownsville area and the Mexican city of Matamoros to the south, but there has been no major damage reported from the storm. The hurricane is having a widespread effect over a much larger area, however, bringing heavy waves and rain to areas as far away as Galveston.

Initial damage reports from South Padre Island and the city of Port Isabel, north of Brownsville, indicate some roofs have been torn off buildings and many streets are flooded. Officials evacuated³ most people from those areas that were expected to be close to the eye of the storm, but some residents and tourists on South Padre island chose to stay put.

Tourist Tracy Davis spoke⁴ to reporters a few hours before the hurricane arrived onshore.

"I expect it will get worse," she said. "I expect to see higher winds, a higher tide over the next couple of hours. That is when it is really going to be interesting."

Weather experts warn that even people far from the Brownsville area could feel the impact of the hurricane. They say tornadoes⁶ spawned⁷ by the big storm system could strike communities a hundred kilometers away. Weather radar⁸ picked up a tornado⁵ north of the town of Harlingen hours before Hurricane Dolly made landfall. Harlingen is more than 30 kilometers inland.

Emergency planners also say the hurricane could cause major flooding much farther inland as it passes in over land and weakens.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has declared 14 Texas counties disaster areas in anticipation⁹ of the storm's impact so that federal funds will be available as needed in areas where damage is severe. The governor mobilized National Guard troops and established emergency centers in various cities outside the immediate¹⁰ storm zone.

San Antonio is serving as the main emergency supply center and officials there say they are prepared to move equipment and relief supplies to where they are needed as soon as they can travel into the affected¹¹ zone.

The governor of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, Eugenio Hernandez, has taken similar steps to protect people living in the path of the hurricane's wind and rain. He has established shelters for 23,000 people in the area.

Oil prices moved higher earlier this week as traders worried about possible effects on the oil and gas industry's facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, but companies operating in the area say there has been minimal impact from the hurricane. No major disruption of oil production is expected.

 

 

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

3 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。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

6 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

7 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

8 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

9 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 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。