CNN 2011-05-12

Hello everyone ,this Tuesday on CNN student news ,we are taking you under the big top.First though,we're headed down to the mighty¹ Mississippi.That would be the Mississippi River which is causing floods up and down as it path through the United States.Wanna take you down the river now to check out some of what's been going on.We're gonna start in southern Illinois in the city of Cairo ,you see it right there on your screen.Flooding was threatening to wipe out the entire town.The U.S. Army Corps² of Engineers came up with this plan to help Cairo and some other communities nearby.And that brings us down to Missouri.What the Corps did was intentionally³ blow up a levee ,a barrier that's designed to actually prevent flooding.That helped the towns up in the Illnois,but it purposely flooded some parts of Missouri ,some farms.And a lot of people ,especially farmer angry with this plan.One farmer said she felt like she was suffering for somebody else.

The flooding has followed the Mississippi's path through Arkansas and down into Louisiana ,as you see here.Yesterday engineers opened a spillway north of the city of New Orleans.The goal here is to help ease the pressure on the river,hopefully lower the flood levels ,keep the water away from the New Orleans.But just to get you an idea of how much water we're talking about a commander,with the Arm Corps of Engineers offered an analogy.He said the water that is rushing through the Mississippi right now ,in one second,could fill up an area the size of a football field 44 feet deep.

We are also seeing flooding in states that the Mississippi branches off to ,like Tennessee.Holly⁴ Firfer has more on the situation there.

Tennessee's largest city is in the cross hairs. Memphis now has the "most high-risk population" for flooding according to the Army Corps of Engineers.

On Tuesday,authorities expected the Mississippi to crest⁵ at 48 feet outside the city,less than a foot shy of the record level set in 1937.With the Mississippi swollen⁶ by a month of abnormally high rainfall,its tributaries⁷ are overflowing⁸ with nowhere for their water to flow.At least 1,100 homes and trailers in and around Memphis have been evacuated⁹ .400 residents of Shellby County are currently in shelters.On Sunday,officials went door to door to alert others that they may also need to leave their homes.The mayor of Memphis is confident that all those who need to escape the rising waters will be evacuated.

"We 'll get them out.Some are holding out to the last minute, but we think in the end ,they're gonna come out.

Officials say well there is great pressure on the levees around Memphis,they are currently performing as expected.

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

4 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

5 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

6 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

7 tributaries   

n. 支流

参考例句：

• In such areas small tributaries or gullies will not show. 在这些地区，小的支流和冲沟显示不出来。
• These tributaries are subsequent streams which erode strike valley. 这些支流系即为蚀出走向谷的次生河。

8 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

9 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。