英语听力精选进阶版 14203

Chinese earthquake rescue

Summary

22 April 2013

China is continuing a massive rescue operation in Sichuan province, with thousands of workers, after a powerful earthquake on Saturday.

Reporter:

John Sudworth

Report

Rescue teams had already reached the remote villages in mountainous Baoxing County on foot, but landslides¹ were blocking access to aid trucks and preventing some of the casualties from being brought out.

Now state media is reporting that a path has been cleared, although, in heavy fog, and with regular aftershocks, the going is slow.

Even in the more accessible areas of neighbouring Lushan county the aid effort has been hampered² by congestion³ on the single road in, and some of those who've been made homeless are complaining that they've not yet received food or water.

Although on the same fault line, this earthquake was much less powerful than the one that struck Sichuan Province in 2008, and the death toll⁴ is not expected to rise significantly.

Once again though it is the poor who have borne the bruntof the disaster, with the biggest killer⁵ not the earthquake itself, but poorly constructed houses.

1 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。

2 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

3 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

4 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

5 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。