新奇事件簿 紧急垃圾食品飞往地震灾区

The residents of a town cut off by last week's New Zealand earthquake have received a somewhat unusual but welcome air delivery – enough fast food to feed a small army. The mercy mission to the town of Kaikoura was organized by a plasterer from the town of Nelson 130 kilometres to the north. Robert Coombes, 49, spent three days gathering¹ donations from people and bought as much fast food as he could with the cash. He filled a friend's light aircraft with 400 pieces of Kentucky Fried Chicken, 300 McDonald's burgers, 50 Domino's pizzas, and hundreds of candies. His cargo² of tasty treats landed in Kaikoura in time for lunch on Friday. Kaikoura was the town worst hit by the magnitude 7.8 quake.

上周，新西兰地震造成一个小镇与外界隔断，这里的居民收到了有些不同寻常但是受欢迎的空投物资——足以供应一支小型军队的快餐。凯库拉小镇的慈善行动由位于北部130千米处的尼尔森一位石膏师组织。49岁的Robert Coombes花了三天的时间号召人们捐赠，并用现金购买了足够的快餐。他用一个朋友的轻型飞机装满了400块肯德基炸鸡，300个麦当劳汉堡，50块达美乐比萨饼，数百块糖果。他的美味货物周五午餐时间准时在凯库拉降落。凯库拉是受7.8级地震影响最严重的小镇。

Mr Coombes explained to reporters that he wanted to "put a smile on people's faces, even if it's only for one day". He added: "There's necessities, but with kids, you need a bit more than bread and water. I just thought I'd fill the plane with junk food and bring a little bit of happiness to the place…. It's just being a good human being." Coombes said the manager of KFC and McDonald's supported his idea and their staff started work two hours earlier to prepare the goodies. Main roads and rail links to Kaikoura have been severed³ by massive landslides⁴. There have been well over 2,000 aftershocks since Monday and the government is warning that there are likely to be more.

Coombes向记者解释，他希望“让人们的脸上多一些笑容，哪怕只有一天”。他还说：“有一些是必需品，但是对孩子们来说，你需要给他们提供的不仅仅是面包和水。所以我想，飞机上应该装一些垃圾食品，为这里带来一点欢乐。这是一个好人应该做的事。”Coombes说，肯德基和麦当劳经理都支持他的想法，他们的员工提前两个小时就开始准备这些食物。通往凯库拉的主要道路和铁路都被大面积山体滑坡切断。自周一以来已经发生了2000多次余震，政府警告称可能还会有更多余震。

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

3 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。