Take Away English-Sichuan Earthquake 四川地震
时间：2019-01-02 作者：英语课 分类：Take Away English
Relief workers remembering those who died
Flags are flying at half-mast across China.
China is coming to the end of an official period of mourning for those who died in last week’s earthquake. For three days, there have been no entertainment events and the government has suspended the Olympic torch relay.
Chinese officials have said that the death toll 1 from the catastrophe 2 has now risen to over 41,000. Over 230,000 people were injured.
Along with the many accounts of suffering and loss, there have been a few amazing stories of survival. Chinese news reported today that a woman in Hongbai has been rescued after being trapped in a tunnel for nine days. She has been taken to hospital and is expected to survive.
However, hopes are quickly fading for those who remain trapped. According to the State Council over 32,000 people are missing in the quake area.
The rescue workers’ attention is now turning towards the recovery of bodies from the rubble 3 and providing food, shelter and drinking water for the survivors 4.
But the relief operation has been hampered 5 by a series of aftershocks, the strongest measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale.
Chinese news reports say that mudslides have buried 200 relief workers in the past four days. There are also reports that thousands of residents have been evacuated 6 from an area in Qingchuan county where large cracks have appeared in the top of a mountain.
On Monday, tens of thousands of people rushed from their homes after the government warned of a possible major aftershock. They slept on the streets or drove to open ground.
Persistent 7 rain is compounding the misery 8 for the homeless. The foreign ministry 9 has appealed to the international community to provide tents for the five million people who have lost their homes.
Yesterday, Premier 10 Wen Jiabao pledged to send 250,000 temporary housing units to the region by the end of June, and one million within three months.
GLOSSARY 词汇表
half-mast
降半旗
suspended
暂停
catastrophe
（突如其来的）大灾难
hopes are quickly fading
希望渺茫
rubble
碎石，碎砖
hampered
（受到）阻碍
Richter scale
里氏震级
evacuated
疏散
persistent
持续的
appealed
求助
mourning
哀悼
death toll
死亡人数
accounts
（个人）陈述，解释
recovery of bodies
找回（遇难者）尸体
relief operation
营救行动
aftershocks
余震
mudslides
泥流
open ground
开阔地，露天地
compounding
（因进一步伤害）使（坏事）更坏
pledged
承诺，给予（援助）
- 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。
- 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。
- After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
- After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。
- 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
- The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
- So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。
- 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。
- Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
- She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。
- Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
- He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
- They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
- We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。