新西兰英语 508 Bad weather in Tauranga again（在线收听） |
Bad weather meant that oil could not be pumped out of the ship the Rena today. The waves were too high. Pumping the oil is slow work because the oil is cold and thick. The pipe from the Rena to the oil barge is nearly 200m long and quite narrow, 7.5cm in diameter. It takes one hour to pump three to four tonnes. Another 1200 tonnes are still in the tanks on the Rena. Oil in the sea has travelled 130km along the East Cape to other beaches. 1300 dead birds have been found along the shore, especially birds which spend most of the time in the water like penguins and shags.
The ship is looking more dangerous. The crack is wider and the angle of the ship is now 21 degrees. Three tug boats are holding the ship. The weather tomorrow will probably be better. If the sea is calmer, pumping oil will continue.
Vocabulary
narrow – opposite of wide
diameter = width of the pipe
crack – where the ship could break in two parts
Tug boats pull ships into the harbour
Calm sea is the opposite of rough sea; a calm sea is flat while a rough sea has high waves
Grammar
It takes one hour to pump … This is the grammar: It takes (me) + time + to do … e.g. It takes (me) 20 minutes to get to school.
Can you make other sentences using “it takes”? |
| 原文地址：http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/NewZealand/226008.html |