英语访谈对话 272 Hurricane

 　　Todd: So Ivan, in America, in California we have earthquakes. Do you have any natural disasters in Houston?

　　Ivan: Uh, it floods a lot and we get hurricanes. Houston's called a bayou city. Bayou is kind of like a dirty river. Sometimes it rains a lot, that thing fills up over, and the next thing you know you got water in your house. Hurricanes are really, really angry typhoons I think. The first hurricane I ever remember we name our hurricanes, you give them names, usually girl names, and the first hurricane I remember was back in 1984 named "Hurricane Alice" I believe. Um, I was in a soccer camp. It starts raining, oh my God it's raining, trees are falling down and cars are kind of being pushed away from the water and stuff¹ and I'm scared to death that my parents are dead right. I was only seven years old. So I remember, I couldn't remember my phone number and the camp counselors² were trying to look it up. Call up: ring, ring, ring. My mom answers the phone, "Are you OK? Are you OK?" "Yes, Ivan, we're OK. Don't worry about it. It's just a rain storm." But it was an absolute³ mess. The next day, the soccer field is completely wiped out. It was, yeah, they're big angry storms.

　　Todd: How long does a hurricane usually last?

　　Ivan: Usually, about two or three days.

　　Todd: Oh, reallyIvan: Yeah, they just kind of stay in Houston. They like Houston. Something about the weather pattern. They just float to Houston and stay there.

　　Todd: Man, that's pretty intense⁴. So afterward⁵ everything is just kind of wiped out.

　　Ivan: Ah, a lot of windows are broken. I said a lot of cars are upside down sometimes, cause the wind is really, really high, plus you got the water that floats the cars, but it's fun when it stops cause the streets are floodedand you can go swimming.

　　Todd: You swim in the water?

　　Ivan: Sure. Sure. It's just rain water.

1 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

2 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

3 absolute   

adj.十足的；绝对的；不受任何限制的

参考例句：

• The first year of the course was an absolute doddle.第一年的课程简单极了。
• I look upon this as an absolute necessity.我认为这是绝对必要。

4 intense   

adj.认真的，专注的；强烈的；紧张的；热情的

参考例句：

• Susan was an intense young lady.苏珊是一个热情的年轻姑娘。
• The quarrel caused her intense unhappiness.争吵令她极其不快。

5 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。