时间:2018-12-07 作者:英语课 分类:Take Away English


英语课






Fallen tree on a car
A fallen tree crushes a car in London





On 16th October 1987, southern Britain was hit by hurricane force winds, the worst storm to occur in Britain since 1703.

Twenty years on, Britain is remembering the devastation 1 caused by what came to be known as 'The Great Storm.' 15 million trees across the region were uprooted 2 due to the wind, as well as the fact that a wet autumn in general had made the ground very muddy.


The falling trees caused destruction to buildings and vehicles and blocked roads and railway lines, causing everyone from commuters to school-children to stay at home.


There were also black-outs across the area, as power lines were damaged by falling trees and flying debris 3. People resorted to candles and torches for light, and gas stoves and open fires to cook food.


The storm raged for 4 hours before dawn, and claimed 18 lives. The effects of the bad weather were heightened by the fact that most people were completely unprepared, because the weather forecasters were caught out.


Earlier that week, weather forecasts had predicted severe weather. But forecasters thought it would miss Britain, and only affect the English Channel. A weatherman, Michael Fish is infamous 4 for saying the storm wouldn’t happen, though in fact he was talking about a hurricane in Florida at the time.


The freak storm caused damage of more than £1billion pounds (15 billion RMB), and hundreds of people sustained injuries.


But could the same thing happen today in Britain? Well, as a result of climate change many people think that sudden and severe weather changes are more likely. However, meteorological technology has improved, and now uses satellites to get a much more accurate picture of future weather. So if another Great Storm comes along, the British public should be better warned and prepared!







GLOSSARY 词汇表


 








hit by
遭受打击




devastation
灾难性破坏




destruction
破坏




black-out
停电;断电




resorted to
诉诸于;




raged
肆虐;持续




heightened
加重




weatherman
天气预报员




freak storm
破天荒的/不寻常的风暴




meteorological
气象学的






hurricane force winds
飓风般的大风




uprooted
(大树)连根拔




commuters
乘公交车上下班的人




debris
废墟;瓦砾




open fires
明火




claimed
报道称




caught out
纰漏被发现




infamous
声名狼藉的




climate change
天气变化




the British public
英国公众








 




1 devastation
n.毁坏;荒废;极度震惊或悲伤
  • 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》
2 uprooted
v.把(某物)连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 );根除;赶走;把…赶出家园
  • Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着,树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 debris
n.瓦砾堆,废墟,碎片
  • 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。
4 infamous
adj.声名狼藉的,臭名昭著的,邪恶的
  • He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
  • I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。
学英语单词
adaptation syndrome
advanced industrial country
aglaonemas
alipoidic
Arkhangel'skoye
arteriograrm
atomist theories
backing of rafters
black ink figure nation
bunkums
bus-rod
Carex orthostachys
cartagenas
cognovit judgment
cold-pressing
common sequence
commutation zone
cutesy-pie
Dianhydrodulcitolum
drive sb potty
eirene
equal validity
Eradex
Esk.
ex officio magistrate
externa bark
fascial sheath of prostate
fast color
front elevation drawing
furacana(e)
Garciaz
general Cayley algebra
go off the boil
hard cosmic ray
Hemandifoline
highwayman
hybrid signature
i remember
imperial preferential tariff system
in a flutter
indium oxide
initial operation
Institution of Electronics
intensifer
kapaa
Keenania tonkinensis
Lancang
lesser curvature(stomach)
light diaphoretic prescription
living environment
lysionotin
meitneriums
microinfusion
miniatus
Muhlenberg, Frederik Augustus Conrad
non-experiences
non-prosecution
nonstandard bearing
off-street parking
ognissanti
os1 carpale distale secundum
palmicolous
phoneticism
plain hook
Poa attenuata
position dialing
postmodern campaign
pre-defense
precalcination
press corrector
pseudotuberculosis aspergillaris
pulsed aerosol generator
quality of tobacco
recombiner
register wheels
reserve protein
retailed
reverse multiple
rochate
roman churches
rudiments of tank gunnery
Schesaplana
self-revealings
short-lived radioactive substance
shottage
single event effects
sintered ferrous product
sleepy sicknesses
smaller whole tone
sonar optimum frequency
specific storage
spiderwick
Spinacia oleracea L.
tenoch
the top of the market
undiversifiable risk
Unitarian Universalism
unscheduled downtime
volumetric correction factor
Vostochnaya Litsa
water locust
whitemarsh