美国有线新闻 CNN 2014-02-18

 Happy Valentine’s day everyone. I’m Carl Zeus. Welcome to another lovely edition of CNN student news. One thing that isn’t lovely as far as many Americans concerned: the weather. From North Caroline to Boston, another winter storm is frosting the east coast. Possible the worst northeast has seen this winter. Ice, sleet¹, snow, freezing rain, all are making nearly impossible in some places to go anywhere. Staying home wasn’t great either for more than seven hundred thousand power customers in the dark. New Yorkers were looking at 15 inches of snow that’s just a snapshot in the eastern seaboard. 

 

“Right now mother nature is serving up tragedy and miseries²; there are 10 confirmed deaths due to the storm. Obviously it made this tragedy there are also problems and pain, but some people are able to find simple pleasure in so much wicked weather”.

 

A snow ball fighter in front of the Lincoln Memorial shows the lighter³ side of the storm; but government agencies are taking the snow seriously. Forecasters expect up to 10 inches of snow in the Nation’s capital. Officials order all federal offices closed. The plows⁴ are out in force Wednesday in Raleigh, North Carolina. But for a lot of stranded⁵ drivers, it didn’t do much good. Officials in the Southeast urge people to stay home if they could, as the roads’ conditions got progressively worse. Even first responders were having a hard time to get around. Slipping and sliding, they try to get their vehicles moving again. 

1 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。

2 miseries   

n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人

参考例句：

• They forgot all their fears and all their miseries in an instant. 他们马上忘记了一切恐惧和痛苦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I'm suffering the miseries of unemployment. 我正为失业而痛苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

4 plows   

n.犁( plow的名词复数 )；犁型铲雪机v.耕( plow的第三人称单数 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• Alex and Tony were turning awkward hands to plows and hoe handles. 亚历克斯和托尼在犁耙等农活方面都几乎变成新手了。
• Plows are still pulled by oxen in some countries. 在一些国家犁头仍由牛拖拉。

5 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。