CNN 2012-08-29

 First up today, from Florida to Louisiana, the watch was on for Isaac. Early Sunday, this was listed as a tropical storm with wind speeds up to 65m/h. But forecasters were saying Isaac could strengthen to a hurricane today, and that’s when it was expected to move across the Florida Keys. Around Florida, people started getting ready for the storm last week. They filled sandbags and stocked up on supplies, things like bottled water, batteries and flashlights. The storm projected path showed it moving up into the Gulf¹ of Mexico, west of Tampa. That’s why the start of the Republican National Convention which is happening in Tampa is being delayed until tomorrow. Officials are hoping that will make it safer for delegates. 

 

 

 

Tropical storm Isaac moved across the Caribbean over the weekend. One of the countries it hit there was Haiti. Martin Savidge examines the impact that the storm had on Haiti. 

 

 

 

A machete is Haiti’s answer to the problem, and almost everybody seems to have one. The trees that blocked the road have also pulled down telephone and power lines. We clear one obstacle only to find more lie ahead. Water is even greater danger, threatening to rise faster than it can run off. You can see the water is coming down through this cut, and what they want to make sure is that you don’t get any debris², the branches, the tree limbs, things like that, because if they were to clog³ in ay way, then you’ve got a real problem of flooding in the community. So this makes perfectly⁴ good sense. Then comes the flooding. Soon, it gets worse. This is what we feared, and this is exactly what’s happening. The water rushing down off of hills, finds its own channel, makes its own way. In this case, it just happens to be right through a neighborhood. Eventually, we’re on the road again, and make our way to Jacmel where ironically the power may be out, but the city’s traffic light is still functioning. We find out way to the town’s two evacuation chambers⁵. So we’re just going to have a look inside to see the conditions where people spent the night. You can see the conditions here are pretty miserable⁶ at best. There is no electricity. The only thing they can say they have is a shelter over their head. At least they’re semi-dry. What about food? 

 

He says no food. 

 

 

 

There is food at the next shelter. Two plastic buckets of peanut butter and jelly to feed close 1,000 people. Misery⁷ is about the only thing there’s plenty of. 

 

 

 

In the northwest Pacific Ocean, hurricanes are called typhoons, and the Japanese island of Okinawa is dealing⁸ with a massive one. In fact, officials say this is the strongest typhoon to hit Okinawa in more than 50 years. The island is used to typhoons. One storm chaser told CNN that all the houses there are built with concrete in order to protect against these storms. But typhoon Bolaven is more than $1,200 miles from end to end. That’s about 20 times bigger than the entire island of Okinawa. There are concerns that a typhoon will create huge waves that could wash out highways along the coast.

1 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。

2 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。

3 clog   

vt.塞满，阻塞；n.[常pl.]木屐

参考例句：

• In cotton and wool processing,short length fibers may clog sewers.在棉毛生产中，短纤维可能堵塞下水管道。
• These streets often clog during the rush hour.这几条大街在交通高峰时间常常发生交通堵塞。

4 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

5 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

6 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

7 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

8 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。