美国有线新闻 CNN 美国加州山火肆虐 干旱助长火势蔓延

 

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0002:22repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. We're starting today's ten minutes of news coverage² in the U.S. state of California. There are currently nine large wildfires burning there. Tens of thousands of acres have been destroyed, hundreds of buildings and homes have been lost, and almost ten thousand firefighters are involved in trying to stop the blazes.

This state is no stranger to these disasters. Throughout the summer, lightning strikes, camp fires, sometimes arson³ sparks them. And the danger so widespread because about a third of California's homes are in areas prone⁴ to wildfires, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Though this year season has been distracted, its fires are not setting records at this point. Still, a severe drought has parched⁵ parts of California for years, combined with the warm, dry Santa Ana winds that blow westward⁶ in the fall could make things worse.

Here's a perspective on one of the wildfires that's currently out of control.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This Blue Cut fire has been an erratic⁷ blaze for firefighters to battle. That's because with the winds coming in, it is burning in multiple directions and it is also it has plenty of fuel as this is a real dried parched part of California, as we've been under drought conditions for several years now. We were talking to one fire official who's talking about the danger as well of these power lines that are out here. Listen to what he had to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These power lines are called KV lines and it's a huge concern for us, to have a high amount of electricity, hundreds of thousands of volts⁸ in those KV lines. It impacts our aircraft. It makes it unsafe for aircraft to fly above them.

ELAM: And those embers are really a big concern because those spot fires can blow up into new branches of this fire and that is what they are concerned about. Thousands of people remained under evacuations, mandatory⁹ evacuations. They're fighting this fire from the sky. Also, hand cruiser out there, as well as bulldozers to try to battle this blaze.

But let me just show what something that this fire has done. Take a look at this right here. This is a school bus where the fire has already run through, unbelievable the damage, how the wheels have been burned off, the glass broken out all by the blaze here.

And this you can see in this little community here, a little rural community, but obviously very devastating¹⁰ for the people who live here to see much of what they own burned up and destroyed.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, San Bernardino County, California.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

4 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

5 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

6 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

7 erratic   

adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。
• The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。

8 volts   

n.（电压单位）伏特( volt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The floating potential, Vf is usually only a few volts below ground. 浮置电势Vf通常只低于接地电位几伏。 来自辞典例句
• If gamma particles are present, potential differences of several thousand volts can be generated. 如果存在γ粒子，可能产生几千伏的电位差。 来自辞典例句

9 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

10 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。