美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Mexican volcano known as El Popo has seen increased activity lately

The Mexican volcano known as El Popo has seen increased activity lately

Transcript¹

The volcano is particularly worrying for the more than 25 million people who live within a 60 mile radius² of it, including Mexico City. A small town is just 5 miles away from its very active crater³.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The Mexican volcano known as El Popo has seen increased activity lately, which is particularly worrying for the 25 million-plus people who live within a 60-mile radius of it, including the capital, Mexico City. So imagine how it feels to live immediately in its shadow. James Fredrick has been to one small town that lies just 5 miles away from El Popo's very active crater.

JAMES FREDRICK, BYLINE⁴: Santiago Xalitzintla looks like many small towns in Mexico. There's a pretty central plaza⁵. The mayor's office is on one side, a small cathedral on the other. It seems like any old day here in the central square. It's really just people going about their everyday business. But if you get to the right spot and you look west, you can see the top of El Popo, where it is still shooting this plume⁶ of steam and toxic⁷ gas and ash into the air. A thin layer of gray covers every surface. Most people are wearing masks, but otherwise ignoring their rumbling⁸ neighbor.

LUCIANA ESPINOSA: (Speaking Spanish).

FREDRICK: Seventy-two-year-old Luciana Espinosa is focused on selling beans and vegetables. "What are we going to do?" she says. "We have to eat. We have to work."

Others I spoke⁹ to in Santiago Xalitzintla were also focused on practical concerns over the unknowable volcano. When would schools reopen so students can take their year-end exams? How can I make sure my livestock¹⁰ gets fed if we evacuate¹¹? Over time, you adjust to living next to an active volcano, says Benjamin Tequianes.

BENJAMIN TEQUIANES: (Speaking Spanish).

FREDRICK: "It's normal for those of us who've always lived here," he says. "We coexist with the volcano."

El Popo had similar activity in 1994 and even as recently as 2016. Tequianes said this recent alert was an opportunity for the youngest generations to learn how to prepare for the worst.

TEQUIANES: (Speaking Spanish).

FREDRICK: His family has prepared their important documents, an emergency grab bag and a bit of spare water.

Still, Claudia Cantero says, even after years living next to Popocatepetl, there are still some things you never get used to.

CLAUDIA CANTERO: (Speaking Spanish).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Spanish).

FREDRICK: She says, the other night, they kept going out onto their rooftop every few hours to watch the faint orange glow from the crater light up the night sky.

CANTERO: (Speaking Spanish).

FREDRICK: "I trembled, but I was excited," she says. "It's incredible to see a phenomenon like this."

The latest reports from the government indicate activity at Popocatepetl is subsiding¹². Here in Santiago Xalitzintla, people are hoping that means they can soon go back to the everyday wonder of living next to a very active volcano.

1 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。

2 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

3 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

4 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。

5 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

6 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

7 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

8 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

11 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。

12 subsiding   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的现在分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• The flooded river was subsiding rapidly. 泛滥的河水正在迅速退落。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gradually the tension was subsiding, gradually the governor was relenting. 风潮渐渐地平息了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）