VOA慢速英语2018 夏威夷或有重大火山喷发（在线收听）

Scientists: Major Volcanic Burst Possible in Hawaii

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano could soon send huge rocks and ash shooting out of its summit crater. The last time this happened was almost 100 years ago.

夏威夷基拉韦厄火山很快就有巨石和火山灰从顶部的火山口喷射出来，上一次火山爆发差不多是100年以前了。

Scientists say the risks of a forceful summit burst will rise in the coming weeks.

科学家称未来几周喷发活动会加剧。 

Kilauea has destroyed 36 structures — including 26 homes — since it began releasing lava from vents, or openings in the ground.There are now 15 vents spread across the Pahoa area of Hawaii’s Big Island.

基拉韦厄火山毁坏了36个建筑——其中包括26处住宅——因为熔岩从火山口或是地面裂口处喷射出来。夏威夷帕赫阿地区比格艾兰岛上有15处裂口。

Tina Neal is a scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory. She said the lava lake looks similar to conditions seen before a major summit eruption in 1924. That explosion killed one person and sent rocks, ash and dust into the air for 17 days.

蒂娜·尼尔是夏威夷火山观测站的一名科学家负责人，她指出，这次熔岩湖的状况和1924年火山爆发前的状况相似。那次火山爆发导致一人死亡，喷射岩石、灰和尘土持续了17天。

This could happen again, scientists say, once the summit lava lake drops so low that groundwater can flow into the channel that feeds magma to the crater. The magma would heat the water and create steam. This would push out rocks that have collected there.

科学家称这种情况有可能再次发生，一旦山顶熔岩湖降低，地下水流入岩浆通道直达火山口。岩浆使地下水受热从而产生蒸汽，这样的话那里的岩石会被推上来。

Don Swanson is another scientist with the Observatory. He said the magma is likely to drop below the water level around the middle of May. Scientists do not know how long it would be after that for an explosion to take place.

唐·斯旺森也是观测站的一名科学家，他称五月中旬左右岩浆可能会落到水平面以下的位置。科学家不知道在那之后多久火山会爆发。

“We suspect it’s a rapid process,” Swanson told reporters on a conference call.

“我们猜测整个过程会很快，” 斯旺森在一次电话会议上对记者说道。 

No one lives in the immediate area of the summit crater. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which includes the crater and surrounding area, announced that it would close Friday ahead of the possible explosive event.

山顶火山口附近无人居住。夏威夷火山国家公园涵盖火山口和周围区域，园方宣布周五将闭园，那之后可能会有火山爆发。

Cindy Wood was visiting the national park from Canada. “It seems pretty safe to me right now but they’d know best,” she told the Associated Press. “We don’t know what’s going on underground. Life and safety is what’s most important.”

辛迪·伍德是加拿大的一名游客，来游览国家公园，她告诉美联社，“在我看来是很安全的，不过他们最了解情况。我们不知道地下发生了什么，生命安全才是最重要的。”

Earlier this month, officials ordered nearly 2,000 people to leave the neighborhoods around the vents. But some ignored the order and stayed to watch over their property.

本月早些时候，官员指示2000人左右离开裂口附近，但是有一些人无视指示，留下来看护自己的财产。

Some have refused to follow orders to leave because of fears their property would be robbed.

有一些人拒绝听从离开的指示，担心他们的财产会被偷掉。

Words in This Story

summit - n. the highest point of a mountain : the top of a mountain

crater - n. the area on top of a volcano that is shaped like a bowl

lava - n. melted rock from a volcano

vent - n. an opening through which air, steam, smoke, liquid, etc., can go into or out of a room, machine, or container

magma - n. hot liquid rock below the surface of the Earth

channel - n. a path, tube, or long narrow place where water flows

rapid - adj. happening in a short amount of time