365个英语简短小故事-122. Hurricane Dean

Hurricane Dean¹ looked like a monster. It developed into a category 5, the highest and most dangerous level. Category 1 is called “minimal,” with wind speeds up to 95 mph. Category 5 is called “catastrophic,” with wind speeds of at least 156 mph. It blows over trees and destroys small buildings. Hurricane Dean hit Jamaica, just south of Cuba. It destroyed hundreds of homes in Jamaica, and then continued west toward² Belize and Yucatan, part of Mexico. Cancun, a Mexican resort³ town on the Gulf⁴ of Mexico, was also in danger.

Thousands of tourists caught early flights out of Cancun. But some stayed. “Hurricanes are usually more bark than bite,” said one tourist from Mississippi. “Of course, sometimes they’re all bite, like Katrina a couple of years ago, and Andrew and Camille before that.”

“Don’t forget Hugo, and Charley, and Agnes, and Rita,” his wife chimed in. “Oh, yeah, and Gilbert! And what about Wilma?”

“Yeah, you’re right. They can be dangerous. But usually, they just bring lots of rain and wind without much destruction⁵. My wife and I are having a great time here in Cancun, and we’re not going to pick up and leave, especially considering how much this vacation is costing us. We’ll take our chances.”

This tourist and his wife were lucky. Dean traveled south of Cancun, causing little damage to the resort. In fact, two days later, Cancun was almost completely cleaned up and bustling⁶ again. It was as if Dean had never been there. The hurricane brought heavy rain to parts of Mexico, but died out two days after hitting land. Two weeks later, Hurricane Felix, also a category 5 at one point, passed south of Jamaica and headed straight toward Nicaragua.

 

1 Dean   

n.(大学)院长，系主任，教务长

参考例句：

• The students much like the new dean.学生们很喜欢这位新系主任。
• Who is the dean of the Foreign Languages Department?外语系主任是谁？

2 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

3 resort   

n.凭借，手段，常去之地，胜地；vi.求助，诉诸，采取（某种手段等），常去

参考例句：

• He couldn't have passed the exam without resort to cheating.他要不是靠作弊是通不过这次考试的。
• Beidaihe is noted for its summer resort.北戴河以避暑胜地而著称。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 destruction   

n.破坏，毁灭，消灭

参考例句：

• The enemy bombs caused widespread destruction.敌人的炸弹造成大面积的破坏。
• Overconfidence was his destruction.自负是他垮台的原因。

6 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。