PBS高端访谈:加州目前的火势情况

JUDY WOODRUFF: Wildfires are burning out of control across Northern and Southern California today. The state's largest utility, Pacific Gas Electric, admitted that its electrical equipment could have sparked one of those fires in Sonoma County. But the official cause has yet to be determined¹. William Brangham has the latest.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Once again, thousands of California firefighters are battling fast-moving blazes across the state. Driven by strong winds and dry conditions, the fires are forcing tens of thousands to evacuate² their homes. Hundreds of schools were closed due to poor air quality and closed highways. The Kincade Fire, in Northern California's Sonoma County, doubled in size in less than 24 hours. It's already destroyed at least 49 structures and burned more than 21,000 acres. It's just 5 percent contained.

MIKE PARKES, Incident Commander, Cal Fire: We absolutely are up against the clock. The winds that are predicted over the next couple days are currently expected to be worse than what we had just the other night.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Four hundred miles south, just north of Los Angeles, the Tick Fire has burned more than 4,000 acres and several subdivisions. Officials say another 10,000 structures are threatened. It too is just 5 percent contained. Two weeks ago, the California utility Pacific Gas Electric shut off power to hundreds of thousands of residents, trying to prevent high winds from knocking over power lines and sparking fires. Investigators³ believe that's what caused last year's deadly Camp Fire that killed 85. Yesterday, PGE said a transmission tower malfunctioned⁴ near the site where the Kincade Fire began, a blaze which continues to roar across Northern California's wine country. California's governor, Democrat⁵ Gavin Newsom, blasted the utility company yesterday.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): It's about decades of mismanagement. It's about focusing on shareholders⁶ and dividends⁷ over you and members of the public. It's a story about greed. And they need to be held accountable.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: PGE warns they will have to cut power to more homes throughout the weekend. And if high winds continue, it could turn into the largest blackout yet for Californians, yet another new normal for a state grappling with the growing impacts of climate change. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm William Brangham.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：今天，加州北部和南部的火势已经超出了控制。加州最大的电力公司加州太平洋瓦电公司承认自己的电气设备可能是索诺马县发生大火的起因。但官方原因尚未确定。下面请听我台记者威廉·布朗汉姆发回的最新报道。

威廉·布朗汉姆：上千名加州消防员又一次投入与快速蔓延的火势的战斗中。在强风和干燥条件的驱动下，火势正迫使数万人从家中疏散。上百所学校已停止上课，因为空气质量太差，很多高速公路也已经关闭。加州北部索诺马县发生的金凯德大火在不到24小时的时间里扩大了2倍的规模。金凯德大火已摧毁至少49座建筑，焚烧了2.1万多公顷的土地，而这只是5%的波及度。

迈克，加州消防局火场指挥员：我们在争分对秒对抗火灾。我们预测火势只会持续几天，但目前的形势要比前几天预测得差很多。

威廉·布朗汉姆：在400英里的南部、洛杉矶的北边，提克山火已经波及了4000多公顷的土地和几个住宅区。工作人员称，另外1万所建筑也可能被吞噬。这个也只包含了5%而已。2周前，加州太平洋瓦电公司停止向数万名居民供电，此举意在阻止疾风吹断电线并助长火势。调查人员认为断电正是去年导致85人在营火中死亡的原因。昨天，加州太平洋瓦电公司称，金凯德大火发生地的附近，某输电杆塔出现故障。金凯德大火依然在加州北部的这座酒之乡肆虐。加州州长、民主党议员加文·纽森昨天炮轰太平洋瓦电公司。

加州州长加文·纽森：这是数十年来管理不力所导致的结果。这件事之所以发生是因为太平洋瓦电公司只专注于股东和分红，看的比公众利益要高。这件事之所以发生是因为这是一个贪婪的公司。他们需要为这件事负责。

威廉·布朗汉姆：太平洋瓦电公司警示称，本周末，他们会切断更多住宅区的电源。如果疾风不停，加州人将经历史上最大规模的断电。断电将和气候变化的巨大影响一起成为加州的新常态。感谢收听威廉·布朗汉姆为您发回的《新闻一小时》。

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 malfunctioned   

发生故障(malfunction的过去式与过去分词)

参考例句：

• Is there any way the dye pack malfunctioned back at the bank? 什么能使爆色板在银行内就失效？ 来自电影对白
• The malfunctioned roller of his mouse is under repair. 他鼠标的滚轴失灵了，正在修呢。 来自互联网

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

7 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。