VOA标准英语2010年-Quake-Ravaged Chile Jolted by Aftersho

Scores of aftershocks have battered¹ Chile after the most powerful earthquake in decades inflicted² massive damage and killed more than 700 people. Tthe rest of the Pacific region appears to have been spared from tsunamis³ that were feared after the quake struck early Saturday.

Chilean rescue teams have worked frantically⁴ to reach people trapped in buildings that collapsed⁵ when the 8.8-magnitude quake caused the ground to convulse for more than a minute.

Jolted⁶ by a barrage⁷ of aftershocks, some as strong as 6.9 magnitude, many Chileans are staying out of their homes and sleeping outdoors.

One woman said she and her family do not want to be inside, and that they only go indoors to use the bathroom.  She said it is safer outdoors.

More than a million homes and buildings are thought to have been damaged by the quake, which struck near Chile's second-largest city, Concepcion.  The temblor affected⁸ vast swaths of territory and was felt in neighboring Argentina.

Chilean emergency official Jose Abumohor predicted the death toll⁹ will rise further as recovery teams continue their grim tasks.

He said the fatality¹⁰ figure is continually changing, and that victims have to be identified.  He said most victims died inside their homes and did not have IDs on their person.

Already shaken by the earthquake, many Chilean seaside communities were later battered by tidal waves.  In the coastal¹¹ town of Constitucion, one man said his family lost everything.

He said a wave 10-meters high destroyed his house, his mother's house, and his aunt's house.

But the rest of the Pacific region appears to have been spared from devastating¹² tsunamis.  In Japan, coastal residents who evacuated¹³ in panic Saturday have returned to their homes.

One woman expressed eagerness to go home, saying that any waves are unlikely to be high and that she is relieved.

Meanwhile, dozens of nations and international aid groups have mobilized to provide aid to Chile, whose president, Michelle Bachelet, declared "a state of catastrophe¹⁴".

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

The prime minister said he has ordered reconstruction¹⁵ aid and other forms of support, which will be provided as soon as Chile requests assistance.

An overwhelmingly Catholic nation, Chile was on the mind of Pope Benedict the 16th Sunday.

The pontiff said his thoughts go to Chile and the population hit by the earthquake.  He said he prays for the victims and all those affected by the calamity¹⁶.

Chile experiences frequent seismic¹⁷ activity, but Saturday's quake was the strongest since 1960, when a 9.5 magnitude quake set off tsunamis that killed hundreds of people as far away as Japan and the Philippines. 
 

1 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

2 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

3 tsunamis   

n.海啸( tsunami的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our oceans are alive with earthquakes, volcanoes, and more recently, tsunamis. 海中充满着地震、火山，包括最近发生的海啸。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• Please tell me something more about tsunamis! 请您给我讲讲海啸吧！ 来自辞典例句

4 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 jolted   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• She was jolted out of her reverie as the door opened. 门一开就把她从幻想中惊醒。

7 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

8 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。

9 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。

10 fatality   

n.不幸，灾祸，天命

参考例句：

• She struggle against fatality in vain.她徒然奋斗反抗宿命。
• He began to have a growing sense of fatality.他开始有一种越来越强烈的宿命感。

11 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。

12 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

13 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。

14 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

15 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

16 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

17 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。