美国有线新闻 CNN 飓风“泽塔”横扫美东南地区致数百万户断电

As the sun rose on Thursday over Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, more than 2.5 million homes and businesses had no electricity.

周四，路易斯安那州、密西西比州、阿拉巴马州和佐治亚州的太阳升起时，超过250万户家庭和企业断电。

That was just one of the effects of Hurricane Zeta following its landfall the day before and its race across the southeastern U.S. This was a very fast-moving system. In one way, that's good because it didn't sit too long over any one area lashing¹ it for hours with wind and rain. In another way, it made the storm worse because it was able to carry its strength far inland.

这只是前一天登陆并横扫美国东南部地区的飓风“泽塔”所造成的影响之一。“泽塔”是移动非常快的系统。从某种程度上说，这是件好事，因为它不会在任何一个区域停留太久，不会对一个区域进行持续数小时的风雨冲击。另一方面，它使风暴变得更糟，因为它能够将力量带到遥远的内陆。

Zeta made landfall in Cocodrie, Louisiana but 500 miles away Atlanta, Georgia was under a tropical storm warning for the first time in two years.

“泽塔”在路易斯安那州科科德里登陆，而在500英里外的佐治亚州亚特兰大市，两年来首次收到热带风暴警告。

All along Zeta's path it left a trail of damage. At least three deaths were blamed on the storm and though Zeta was officially a Category 2 hurricane when it hit the Gulf² Coast, its sustained³ wind speeds of 110 miles per hour put it right on the cusp of Category 3 status.

“泽塔”在过境区域留下破坏踪迹。这场风暴造成至少三人死亡，虽然“泽塔”袭击墨西哥湾沿岸时的官方级别为2级飓风，但其持续风速达到每小时110英里，这相当于3级飓风的强度。

What nation has both the largest economy and the largest population in Africa? Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt or Kenya? With the continents highest GDP and a population of more than 214 million people, Nigeria tops the list.

下列哪个是非洲最大经济体和人口最多的国家？尼日利亚、南非、埃及还是肯尼亚？尼日利亚是世非洲大陆国内生产总值（简称GDP）最高的国家，其人口超过2.14亿，位居首位。

Despite that though, there is widespread poverty in Nigeria according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. It estimates that 70 percent of Nigerians live below the poverty line and that more than 60 percent of them live in extreme poverty. There's also a significant difference in literacy⁴ rates between men and women. An estimated 71 percent of Nigerian men can read and write while the estimate is less than 53 percent of women. So, the CIA says, better educational opportunities for women could help Nigeria overcome some of its problems. Sandra Aguebor has the tools of the trade that's making a difference.

尽管如此，根据美国中央情报局的数据，尼日利亚仍存在普遍贫困。据估计，70%的尼日利亚人生活在贫困线以下，超过60%的人生活在极端贫困之中。男性和女性的识字率也有显著差异。据估计，71%的尼日利亚男性会读写，而女性的这一比例不到53%。因此，中情局表示，为妇女提供更好的教育机会可以帮助尼日利亚克服一些问题。桑德拉·阿奎博尔的交易工具带来了改变。

1 lashing   

n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 sustained   

adj.持久的，持续的v.维持( sustain的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；忍受；长期保持

参考例句：

• Without correct leadership, the enthusiasm of the masses cannot be sustained. 没有正确的领导，群众的积极性就不可能持久。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He has sustained a great loss by the death of his father. 他父亲的去世使他蒙受巨大的损失。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 literacy   

n.识字，有文化，读写能力

参考例句：

• I can't believe that he failed the literacy test.我无法相信他识字测试不及格。
• The literacy rate there is the highest in Central America.那里的识字率居中美洲之首。