时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2013年(五月)


英语课

 


Victims of Oklahoma Tornado 1 Get Help From Near and Far



The devastation 2 of her home brought a bitter twist of irony 3 to Linda Berna. She helped with search and rescue efforts here after the May 1999 tornado.


“We kicked down doors to see if there were any survivors 4, and now here I am on the other side. I never thought this would happen,” Berna said.


Hundreds of people like Berna are coping with loss and trying to survive.


To help them, Moore's First Baptist Church offered its large property as a center for relief operations.


For people in Moore who lost their homes or had homes heavily damaged, state and local officials, as well as private groups, have set up a command center here to provide them with food, and shelter if necessary.


But most people don't need to come here because volunteers load up trucks with water and food to distribute around town.


Donations have poured in from around Oklahoma and from many other states.


The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is on hand; so is the Red Cross.


And there are representatives from major insurance companies helping 5 people file claims.


The State Farm company even offered relief in the form of free ice cream cones 6.


Moore resident Natasha says USAA insurance adjusters quickly provided her with a way to fix her home's damaged roof.  


“They said 'you were affected 7 by the tornado, what were your damages?' They were real helpful, they took our claim,” Natasha said.


The USAA insurance company brought in a mobile claims processing unit from Texas and has 120 claims adjusters here.  


The tornadoes 8 damaged or destroyed around 12,000 homes, with the total cost exceeding $2 billion. But Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner 9 John Doak says that isn't his main concern.


“There are a lot of people out here trying to help hurt people who have lost loved ones, and we are trying to help them with their homes and autos and other things, but it pales in comparison of the loss of life,” Doak said.


On Friday, some of the activity here will cease as the church is used for two funerals of tornado victims, the first of many to come.




1 tornado
n.飓风,龙卷风
  • 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 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》
3 irony
n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄
  • She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
  • In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。
4 survivors
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 )
  • 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
5 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
  • 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。
6 cones
n.(人眼)圆锥细胞;圆锥体( cone的名词复数 );球果;圆锥形东西;(盛冰淇淋的)锥形蛋卷筒
  • In the pines squirrels commonly chew off and drop entire cones. 松树上的松鼠通常咬掉和弄落整个球果。 来自辞典例句
  • Many children would rather eat ice cream from cones than from dishes. 许多小孩喜欢吃蛋卷冰淇淋胜过盘装冰淇淋。 来自辞典例句
7 affected
adj.不自然的,假装的
  • 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。
8 tornadoes
n.龙卷风,旋风( tornado的名词复数 )
  • 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
9 commissioner
n.(政府厅、局、处等部门)专员,长官,委员
  • The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
  • He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。
学英语单词
absitively posolutely
Adantol
ammunition chests
amphosome
antitonic
Ascians
AT cut crystal
average response technique
average sales this month or period
barklice
black-bag
bleaching effluent
bluegreen algae
Bol'shaya Tynda
Brachiopoda
Bragg coupling efficiency
breeding property
budget allotment
bulkhead resistant to fire
Circaea erubescens
cloisonne enamel
compensating phase shift
compensatory drawing
compound turboprop
contriver
culpablest
dalit
DeCSS
demaunder
destabilising
edge fracture
error-correction routine
fasciated yarn
fautors
FNQ
general agreement for tariff and trade
get hunk on
Gludorm
gwyndaf
halting problem
hand follow-up steering
have a good mind to do something
head-over-heels
horsetail ore
intermode resonance
ionic complex
isopiestic line
jake brake
kugel
lapwais
leading axle
libya (libia)
Lincoln Acres
Logai
longity
manual receive mode
methergine
mulms
mustard oil acetic acid
neo-Gothic style
normalized d-optimal design
Norvatis
numbered access
of itself
off-label
outsliding
page cord
pecka
piston heater
Polonius
polysymmetric
prevailing market price
Prevost's sign
productivity of grinding
quadrivariate
radiolites
reddour
relative articulation
remote control system for controllable pitch propeller
safeguard technique
scale preserving mapping
Simandre
single pickled sheet
slope taping
sole exception
Somerset East
Terminthia paniculata
thalattogenic
theaters of the absurd
trade-off process
tradition-oriented
Triatominae
tuberaphis takenouchii
turbine master
ultramicroscopical
unlimited hydroplane
Wac
wall moulding
weisiger
Wilks
wye connected alternator
Xenophyophorida