VOA慢速英语2016 厄瓜多尔和日本发生地震 幸存者搜救工作还在继续（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2016-04-19 Survivors Sought After Ecuador, Japan Quakes 厄瓜多尔和日本发生地震 幸存者搜救工作还在继续

Efforts to rescue victims continue after strong earthquakes in Ecuador and Japan killed hundreds and injured thousands.

厄瓜多尔和日本发生的强烈地震造成数百人死亡和数千人受伤之后，对灾民的救助工作还在继续。

In Ecuador, officials say at least 350 people died and more than 2,500 were injured in an earthquake that struck the coastal area late Saturday.

有关官员表示，在周六晚间袭击厄瓜多尔沿海地区的地震中，至少有350人遇难以及超过2500人受伤。

Officials say the number of dead will increase as aid workers reach isolated areas.

官员们表示，随着救援人员抵达偏远地区，遇难人数还会继续上升。

Rescuers are digging with their hands and tools to find survivors under collapsed buildings. Soldiers have been deployed to areas hit by the earthquakes.

救援人员正在用自己的双手和工具挖掘，寻找废墟下的幸存者。士兵们已经被部署到地震灾区。

President Rafael Correa visited the coastal city of Manta, where the earthquake caused much damage. He said the earthquake was the worst natural disaster in his country since 1949, when thousands of people died in an earthquake.

科雷亚总统访问了遭受地震损害非常严重的沿海城市曼塔。他说，这场地震是自1949年那场数千人遇难的地震以来，该国遭受的最为严重的自然灾害。

Officials say the quake was felt throughout the country. It stopped electricity and mobile phone service throughout the capital, Quito. 

有关官员表示，厄瓜多尔全国各地都有震感。地震造成整个首都基多的电力和手机服务中断。

In Japan, the U.S. military is helping Japan recover from three powerful earthquakes there. At least 41 people were killed in southern Japan on the large island of Kyushu.

而在日本，美国军方正在帮助日本从这里发生的三场强烈地震中重建。日本南部大岛九州岛至少有41人遇难。

Officials said as many as 100 people were trapped under collapsed buildings in Kumamoto Prefecture.

官员们表示，多达100人困在熊本县的废墟下。

In addition to the dead and the missing, almost 2,000 people have been hurt since the first earthquake struck Thursday. Buildings collapsed. Fires and landslides occurred. Two stronger quakes struck on Friday and Saturday.

自周四发生首次地震以来，除了遇难和失踪者，还有近2000人受伤。建筑物倒塌，还发生了火灾和山体滑坡。周五和周六又发生了两次强烈地震。

On Sunday, the Japanese government sent 25,000 Self Defense Force troops to help people on Kyushu.

周日，日本政府派出了2.5万名自卫队士兵到九州岛帮助灾民。

Officials say many people are trapped or buried under collapsed buildings or homes. About 200,000 people are in evacuation centers at schools and government buildings.

官员们表示，很多人困在或埋在倒塌的建筑物或房屋之下。约20万人滞留在学校和政府大楼的疏散中心。

Officials will not have complete damage reports until all communities are reached.

官员们表示，在抵达所有社区之前不会有完整的损失报告。

Dangerous aftershocks often happen after large earthquakes. Experts say they will be felt in southern Japan for more than a week. There have been more than 450 aftershocks since Thursday.

在大地震之后通常会发生危险的余震。专家表示，在一周多时间里日本南部都会有震感。自周四地震以来已经发生了超过450次余震。

“There is no connection between the earthquakes” in Japan and Ecuador, says Gavin Hayes, PhD, a research geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado.

美国地质调查局位于科罗拉多州戈尔登市，该局的地球物理研究学家加文·海斯博士表示，"厄瓜多尔和日本发生的地震之间没有关联。"

“Earthquakes are random,” he says, and sometimes they happen around the same time. These recent ones are not connected, he says.

他说，"地震是随机发生的。"有时候地震会在同一时期发生。他说最近的这些地震之间并无关联。

What Japan and Ecuador do have in common is that they are both part of what is called the “ring of fire.” That is the area around the edges of the Pacific Ocean, like coastal Asia and coastal North and South America. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes happen there.

日本和厄瓜多尔的共同点是他们都是所谓的环太平洋火山带的一部分，该火山带包括亚洲沿海，以及北美和南美的沿海。根据美国地质调查局提供的数据，全球90%的地震都发生在该地区。

Earthquakes happen when the "plates" — or the crust and upper layer of the earth -- move against each other. When they shift, it causes the earth to shake and shudder, moving energy along the lines of the plates. These lines are called faults.

当地球板块互相挤压就会发生地震。当板块移动时就会导致地球震动，能量沿着各个板块的线路移动，这些线路被称之为断层。

Hayes says earthquakes are not increasing or getting worse than in the past. What is different is word spreads more quickly now.

海斯表示，和过去相比，地震并没有增多或恶化。不同的只是现在信息传播得更快。

“We are in a situation now that everyone is in tune with the Internet and media… and we’re hearing more about (earthquakes) than in the past.” 

"我们现在每个人都和互联网以及媒体非常合拍，和过去相比我们更多地听到地震相关的信息。"

With Twitter and other social media, Hayes says, people can post pictures and information immediately after an earthquake.

海斯表示，通过推特等社交媒体网站，人们可以在地震后迅速发布图片和信息。

Words in This Story

aftershock – n. a smaller earthquake that takes place after a larger one

landslide – n. a large mass of rocks and earth that suddenly and quickly moves down the side of a mountain or hill

isolated – adj. separate from others

shudder - v. to shake or move violently