美国国家公共电台 NPR--Most Californians are on alert as a streak of brutal weather continues

Most Californians are on alert as a streak¹ of brutal² weather continues

Transcript³

People who live along the Russian River in Northern California are evacuating⁴ in anticipation⁵ of flooding. The region is weathering its fifth major storm since Christmas and is bracing⁶ for a sixth.

DWANE BROWN, HOST:

Hundreds of thousands of Californians lost power. And tens of thousands have fled their homes. Major highways are closed up and down the state this morning due to flooding.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

California is in the middle of its fifth major storm since Christmas. And more storms are on the way. Here's California's state climatologist, Michael Anderson.

MICHAEL ANDERSON: These are interesting events in that each individually, not all that awe-inspiring in terms of, oh, my gosh, that's a monster storm. It's the fact that you're just having so many of them with little break in between them.

BROWN: Joining us from Sonoma County, just north of San Francisco, is KQED reporter Danielle Venton. Well, Danielle, it's been a wet night and morning up and down the state. How are these storms affecting folks where you are?

DANIELLE VENTON, BYLINE⁷: Here in Sonoma County, we've had people die from falling trees, people rescued from getting their vehicles stuck in water, hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to roads. And we've had a lot of people who live along the Russian River, which for decades has been a hotspot for flooding damage in the western U.S., be displaced. I visited with some of these people to hear what they've been going through. I met Louis Britton, who lives in an RV in a town called Guerneville on the banks of the Russian River.

LOUIS BRITTON: In the area that I live, flood is at 30 feet. So yeah, so I was like, well, I guess it's time to go.

VENTON: He's part of a group of evacuees⁸ who live in RVs or trailers who have come to a private park. It's really a kid's playground. There's about 50 people, including about 20 children. And they've been living here for the last few days because where they normally park their homes, it's just too dangerous. They're getting support from the county, such as food and water. And they've moved in port-a-potties.

BROWN: Yeah. Danielle, we know this area of northern California is also where - burn scar, lots of fires have happened. The rains are affecting folks throughout the state now. What are you hearing from other parts of California?

VENTON: Well, there's a 34-mile levee along the Cosumnes River near Sacramento that saw several breaches¹⁰ during the New Year's Eve storm. There's a lot of nervousness that it could breach⁹ again and flood nearby land and homes. Elsewhere, we're seeing serious floods, with water inundating¹¹ homes. In the Santa Cruz area, for example, a much-beloved pier¹² and wharf¹³ were destroyed. And of course, more recently, farther south, parts of Santa Barbara and the entire town of Montecito received orders to evacuate¹⁴ immediately Monday afternoon. And five years ago there, during similarly heavy rains, a huge debris¹⁵ flow killed more than 20 people. And, of course, that's what officials fear could happen again and what these evacuations are meant to guard against. At least if landslides¹⁶ happen, people won't be there this time. And in Los Angeles County, authorities issued a flash flood warning.

BROWN: Yeah.

VENTON: Some of the places affected¹⁷ include Long Beach, Malibu, Beverly Hills...

BROWN: Right.

VENTON: ...Downtown. Lots of roads and highways are closed this morning due to mudslides and debris in the road.

BROWN: Oh, my goodness. Last night, the winds were so strong, Danielle, here in southern California and LA County that not only did you feel it, but it sounded like maybe there was more going on than just heavy rain and wind. We've seen, of course, a serious drought over the years. How is all this affecting that? Are we moving out of it?

VENTON: Well, it's a little complicated. I mean, these rains are causing huge problems. But they're also really helpful for our water supply.

BROWN: Yeah.

VENTON: It's going to take a couple of months before we know how our supplies are looking going into summer.

BROWN: All right. That's KQED's Danielle Venton. Thank you.

VENTON: Thank you.

1 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

2 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

5 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

6 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 evacuees   

n.被疏散者( evacuee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Moreover, for multi-exits, evacuees select a exit based on game theory. 在有多个出口时，疏散人员根据对策论选择出口。 来自互联网
• Evacuees wade through flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar on Saturday, July 31, 2010. 撤离灾区涉水通过后在白沙瓦沉重的季风降雨在周六，2010年7月31日。 来自互联网

9 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

10 breaches   

破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背

参考例句：

• He imposed heavy penalties for breaches of oath or pledges. 他对违反誓言和保证的行为给予严厉的惩罚。
• This renders all breaches of morality before marriage very uncommon. 这样一来，婚前败坏道德的事就少见了。

11 inundating   

v.淹没( inundate的现在分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• Floodwaters are inundating states up and down the Eastern Seaboard. 洪水淹没了东部沿海各州。 来自互联网
• Their invasion of the city effecttidal wave inundating first the immigrant colonies. 他们的涌入城市，象潮头一样首先淹没了移民地带。 来自互联网

12 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。

13 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

14 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

15 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。

16 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

17 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。