新西兰英语 691 Explosion on Mt Tongariro

 　　Three months ago, Mt Tongariro erupted, sending a cloud of ash into the sky. Today the same thing happened and it happened suddenly, without any early signs or noise. Again it sent a cloud of ash into the sky, about 5000m high.

　　Listen to August 8th 2012 to hear more about this.

　　At this time of year, the Tongariro Crossing is a very popular track with New Zealanders and overseas tourists. The mountain is nearly 2,000m high but not steep. The track crosses from one side of the mountain, over the top to the other side, 19km long. It is a one-day journey on foot.

　　About 100 school children were on the mountain at the time of the eruption². A teacher was talking to one group, when suddenly the children called out, “Look!” He turned around to look, then shouted to the children to run down the mountain as fast as possible. However, no one was injured because there were no rocks with the ash and the ash went straight up into the sky.

　　This eruption lasted only about 5 minutes. Geologists³ do not know if there will be any more volcanic⁴ activity in the next few days. Meanwhile the Tongariro Crossing is closed and small aeroplanes cannot fly over that area.

　　Vocabulary

　　?Mt – mount¹, mountain

　　?erupt – an explosion from a volcano

　　?ash – grey powder e.g. after a fire

　　?geologists – scientists who study the earth

　　?volcanic – adjective from volcano

1 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

2 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

3 geologists   

地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geologists uncovered the hidden riches. 地质学家发现了地下的宝藏。
• Geologists study the structure of the rocks. 地质学家研究岩石结构。

4 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。