美国有线新闻 CNN 新西兰南岛发生强震并引发海啸 已致2人死亡

 

First story takes us to the South Pacific nation of New Zealand, where a powerful earthquake jolted¹ the country's south island just after midnight on Monday. A little more than a million people live in the south island and though earthquakes are common in New Zealand, they're not usually this powerful.

This was a magnitude 7.8 quake, a major one, capable of causing significant damage. Its epicenter was about 30 miles northeast of the city of Christchurch, home to 340,000 people. But the quake was estimated to have hit about 14 miles deep and the buffer² between the quake itself and the earth surface might have kept things from being worse.

New Zealand's building code aims to make structure strong enough to get through tremors³. But especially in an island nation, the quake itself is only part of the problem.

You're hearing tsunami⁴ sirens, urgent warnings telling people who live anywhere near the coast to get to high ground, waves that were eight feet higher than the country's usual tide levels were reported early on, a local meteorologist said it was the highest tsunami the country has seen in 38 years. By Monday morning, the threat had eased and people at high risks areas were told they could go back home.

Still, there were a number of aftershocks, some strong enough to cause further damage. The nation's prime minister said at least two people have been killed, but more deaths were feared. New Zealand is located on the Pacific Ocean's Ring of Fire — a horseshoe-shaped belt where a lot of the earth's volcanic⁵ and earthquake activity takes place.

1 jolted   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• She was jolted out of her reverie as the door opened. 门一开就把她从幻想中惊醒。

2 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

3 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。

4 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。

5 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。