VOA标准英语2013--Moore, Oklahoma, Begins to Recover from Deadly Tornado

 

Moore, Oklahoma, Begins to Recover from Deadly Tornado¹

The tornado cut a wide path of destruction through Moore, taking away in an instant the comfortable lives people had built here.

But many survivors² are just happy to be alive.

"I feel lucky; I feel like a million bucks³ right now," said a local resident.

Another person left homeless, but alive, is Alfredo Corrales, who crowded into a small underground shelter with his family and a neighbor.

"Me and the neighbor were just holding on to the hatch, just to keep the door secure, and that wind was blowing over and the wind was just sucking up on the door.  And when it was doing that the rain was just shooting down into the cellar," he said.

Among those who have temporarily moved to the nearby city of Norman is Michelle Maddin, who was overjoyed to find all of her children unharmed after the twister devastated⁴ most of their neighborhood.

"I was relieved, but I kind of felt guilty that my kids were okay and there are others that aren't okay and there is just devastation⁵ everywhere," she said.

She and her family now watch any darkening of the sky with anxiety.

In the wreckage⁶ of what used to be the beauty salon⁷ she helped run, Carmen Hussey helps clean up.

"They are going to rebuild the shop, rebuild the building, but in the meantime, those of us who are self-employed need somewhere to work," she said.

Utility companies have brought in crews to help restore the town's electrical service.

And volunteers, including local college students, are helping⁸ to remove debris⁹ from homes and yards near the disaster zone.

Moore city official, Deirde Ebrey, says this kind of tragedy unites people.

"In a community like this, I would say that we were 100 percent affected¹⁰, so those of us who live nowhere near where these things happened are completely affected," she said.

Around 90 percent of homes here in Moore were not touched by the storm.  But having had three major tornadoes¹¹ strike here in the past 14 years, people know that it could be their home the next time. 

1 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。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

5 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

7 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

10 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。

11 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