CNN 2011-03-17

It's March 15th, I'm Carl Azuz. You're tuned¹ in to CNN Student News! We've got stories on sports and technology coming up. But we start today in Japan.

In the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami² in that country, one of the many major concerns is problems at a nuclear power plant. In yesterday's show, we talked about how these plants work. There have been explosions inside some of them, but experts think those are probably being caused by a build-up of hydrogen. Another problem, though: The cooling system for one of the nuclear reactors³ went down. No cooling system means the water that covers up the nuclear fuel rods started to burn off; that left the rods exposed. If those things are exposed for too long, the heat and steam that they let off could melt the reactor's core. And that could be very bad news indeed. Officials are doing everything they can to keep this situation under control.

Meanwhile, rescue crews are spread out all over northern Japan trying to reach survivors⁴ of the quake and tsunami. But rescuers are facing obstacles as well. Obviously, they have to work around all the rubble⁵ and the flooding you see here. But they're also dealing⁶ with aftershocks. And the weather is supposed to get worse, which could in itself cause problems. There are scenes of incredible rescues taking place, like this one. A sixty-year-old man was swept out to sea, along with his house. He managed to hold on to part of his roof, and a Japanese naval⁷ ship found him floating nine miles off the coast.

We also talked yesterday about the help coming in from around the world. At least 70 countries have offered help to Japan, and the aid they want to send in is very unique. We have some examples of it for you right now. Rescue dogs. They're heading in from South Korea, Britain, Germany. These are specially⁸ trained animals that can tell the difference between survivors and dead bodies. So hopefully, they'll be able to help in the rescue efforts. Next, clinics for medical care. These are mobile clinics, so they can be set up, torn down really quickly and they can get aid to those who need it. Nuclear specialists are also there. And I don't just mean people who have experience with nuclear reactors and how to fix them. These folks are experts at containing radioactive materials, and the specialists are going to be needed. Next, telecommunications equipment. The power has failed in a lot of places. Backup generators⁹ are being brought in to restore that power. And phone equipment is being brought in to get loved ones in touch with each another. Finally, machinery¹⁰ to clean debris¹¹. We're talking about heavy duty equipment, stuff that can lift houses off of people who are trapped or cut through concrete. That kind of equipment could be crucial in towns like the one Gary Tuchman filed this report from.

1 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

3 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

4 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 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 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

8 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

9 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

11 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。