VOA标准英语2009年-Australians Sweat in Record-Breaking Winte

Australia has experienced its warmest August on record, as winter temperatures soared. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology says that August was a "most extraordinary month" with mean temperatures almost 2.5 degrees above the long-term average.
　
Young girl cools herself in a fountain on the Corso in Sydney's Manly¹ Beach (File photo)

August in Australia culminated² in a record-breaking heat-wave across much of the continent.

In the Queensland town of Bedourie the temperature reached 38.5 degrees. New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have had their warmest winters on record.

Blair Trewin from the National Climate Center says the past month brought unprecedented³ weather.

"Early last week we saw a number of locations in northern NSW [New South Wales] and southern Queensland break their August record-high temperatures by four or five degrees," Trewin said. "And to break records by that sort of margin⁴ is something which is extremely rare."

Scientists think that such unseasonal temperatures are the result of both global warming and natural climate variability.

There are warnings that spring in this part of the southern hemisphere is likely to bring more hot weather, exacerbating⁵ a long drought.

Parts of Australia have seen below-average rainfall for several years and the outlook for many parched⁶ communities is not good.

John Ridley, a grain farmer in New South Wales, says his crop could fail if the rains do not come soon.

"We needed rain yesterday, right," Ridley said. "We needed rain most probably a fortnight ago for our crops to realize their full potential but most probably been 30 percent of our yield potential gone and every day it doesn't rain that will fall quite dramatically from there."

Australia is a major food exporter, and if drought dramatically cuts yields, that could cause global prices for grain, meat and other foods to rise.

The warm, dry conditions have prompted the authorities to warn that Australia's annual bushfire season is again likely to be severe.

Already serious fires have flared⁷ near Sydney, the country's most populous⁸ city.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand had its warmest August since temperatures were first recorded 155 years ago.

 

1 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

2 culminated   

v.达到极点( culminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• a gun battle which culminated in the death of two police officers 一场造成两名警察死亡的枪战
• The gala culminated in a firework display. 晚会以大放烟火告终。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

5 exacerbating   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This pedagogical understretch is exacerbating social inequalities. 这种教学张力不足加重了社会不平等。 来自互联网
• High fertilizer prices are exacerbating the problem. 高涨的肥料价格更加加剧了问题的恶化。 来自互联网

6 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

7 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

8 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。