英语听力精选进阶版 14308

Australian bush fires

Summary

21 October 2013

A state of emergency has been declared in New South Wales in Australia as firefighters continue to battle bush fires. Two hundred homes have been destroyed so far. Weather conditions are expected to deteriorate¹ with high temperatures and strong winds forecast in the coming days.

Reporter:

Jon Donnison

Report

Here amid the smokey haze² of the bush, the heat hits the senses. Temperatures are back in the mid-30s making the work of firefighters increasingly difficult. Helicopters whirr overhead dumping water on the nearby fire fronts. They’re trying to stop several fires from merging³ into one huge blaze spanning hundreds of kilometres. 

In several communities, people are being warned not to try and stay put to defend their homes. With hundreds of houses already destroyed, disaster welfare centres have been set up where families can start the planning needed to rebuild their lives. Most of the firefighters are volunteers. Many look exhausted⁴; some have even lost their own homes. 

The fires follow unseasonably hot weather; conditions are expected to worsen throughout the week with dangerously strong winds forecast on Wednesday and little let-up in the temperature.

1 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

2 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

3 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

4 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。