VOA慢速英语2021 热浪来袭美国西部多地高温破纪录

An early heat wave has been bringing high temperatures to the western United States.

早期的热浪导致美国西部出现高温天气。

Scientists are warning that the extreme heat and dry conditions might become normal.

科学家警告称，极端高温和干燥的情况可能会变成常态。

Many places in the American West have been reporting drought¹ conditions for many years.

美国西部多地多年来一直报告了干旱情况。

Park Williams is an associate professor in geography with the University of California, Los Angeles.

帕克·威廉姆斯(Park Williams)是加州大学洛杉矶分校地理学副教授。

He said, "Heat waves are getting worse in the West because the soil is so dry."

他说：“西部地区的热浪越来越严重，因为土壤非常干燥。”

Williams said soil in the western half of the country is the driest it has been since 1895.

威廉姆斯称，美国西部的土壤是自1895年以来最干燥的一次。

For example, Phoenix², Arizona is having some of the highest temperatures this week. On Wednesday, it reached 46 degrees Celsius³.

例如，本周亚利桑那州凤凰城的气温最高。周三，气温达到了46摄氏度。

"We could have two, three, four, five of these heat waves before the end of the summer," Williams said.

威廉姆斯说：“在夏季结束之前，我们可能会遭遇两次、三次、四次甚至五次这样的热浪袭击。”

An extreme heat warning is in effect until at least Sunday.

极端高温警报至少要持续到周日。

Reports say in Palm Springs, California, the temperature reached 49 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

报道称，周二，加州棕榈泉的气温达到了49摄氏度。

Weather experts say a high-pressure system spread over the west this week, causing unusually hot days.

气象专家表示，一股高压系统本周将席卷西部，造成异常炎热的天气。

Officials in California asked people to save electricity for a few hours on Thursday.

周四，加州官员要求人们节约用电数小时。

They asked people to set their air-conditioning systems to 25.5 degrees Celsius or higher and turn off unnecessary lights and electronics⁴.

他们要求人们将空调系统设置调至25.5摄氏度或更高，关掉不必要的照明和电子设备。

Officials said they do not expect power outages. But that could change if temperatures remain high in the coming days.

官员们表示，他们预计不会出现停电。但如果未来几天气温居高不下，情况可能会发生变化。

The San Francisco Bay area has also had higher than normal temperatures.

旧金山湾区的气温也高于正常水平。

Kathleen Craft⁵ works⁶ at a shelter in the city of Livermore, California.

凯瑟琳·克拉夫特（Kathleen Craft）在加州利弗莫尔市的一家收容所工作。

She said temperatures had reached 37 degrees Celsius but just one woman came to a special cooling center.

她说，气温已经达到了37摄氏度，但只有一名妇女来到了一个特殊的避暑中心。

Craft said she expects more people as temperatures rise.

克拉夫特称，随着气温上升，她预计会有更多的人到来。

Denver, Colorado, also saw a record high of 38 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

周二，科罗拉多州的丹佛市也创下了38摄氏度的最高纪录。

And western Colorado is under an extreme heat warning. The area is also experiencing extremely dry conditions.

科罗拉多州西部已发布极端高温警报。该地区也正经历着极端干旱的状况。

John Salmen is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

约翰·萨勒曼(John Salmen)是美国国家气象局的气象学家。

He said Las Vegas, Nevada, will likely remain at 45 degrees Celsius or hotter through Sunday.

他说，内华达州拉斯维加斯周日的温度可能会一直维持在45摄氏度或更高。

Temperatures could break the record high of 47 degrees Celsius set in June of 2017.

气温可能会打破2017年6月创下的47摄氏度的历史最高纪录。

"This is pretty impressive⁷. We're seeing all-time records fall," Salmen said.

“这令人印象深刻。我们看到历史记录一直在刷新，”萨勒曼说道。

In Montana, temperatures over 38 degrees Celsius have made it harder to fight forest fires.

在蒙大拿州，超过38摄氏度的温度使得扑灭森林大火变得更加困难。

The fires have gotten much larger in size, destroying homes and forcing evacuations.

火灾的规模越来越大，房屋被毁，居民被迫撤离。

High winds have spread the flames and forced the crash-landing of a firefighting helicopter.

强风导致火势蔓延，迫使一架消防直升机实施迫降。

At least 14 new fires have been reported in Montana and Wyoming since Tuesday.

自周二以来，蒙大拿州和怀俄明州至少又发生了14起火灾。

Dry weather was also being felt in Idaho. Officials there are preparing for a difficult forest fire season.

爱达荷州也感觉到了干燥的天气。当地官员正在为艰难的森林火灾季节做准备。

Nick Nauslar is a meteorologist with the National Interagency Fire Center.

尼克·瑙斯勒(Nick Nauslar)是美国国家跨部门消防中心的气象学家。

He told state officials this week that 80 percent of Idaho is very dry.

本周，他告诉州官员，爱达荷州80%的地区非常干燥。

He said Idaho had its second-driest spring in the last 126 years.

他说，爱达荷州的春天，是过去126年来第二干旱的春天。

I'm Dan Novak.

丹·诺瓦克为您播报。

1 drought   

n.旱灾，干旱，久旱

参考例句：

• The plants are growing in again,despite the drought.尽管干旱，植物又长出来了。
• The ground is as hard as stone after the drought.长期干旱后土地硬得就像石头一样。

2 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

3 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

4 electronics   

n.电子器件，电子学，电子技术

参考例句：

• About 45000 people worked in electronics in Scotland.苏格兰约有4.5万人在电子行业工作。
• He wants to brush up his knowledge of electronics.他想温习他的电子学知识。

5 craft   

n.工艺，手艺；小船，飞机；行业；诡计

参考例句：

• The harbour was full of pleasure craft.港口满是游艇。
• He's a master of his craft.他有一手好手艺。

6 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

7 impressive   

adj.给人深刻印象的，感人的

参考例句：

• This cinema is so impressive that we can't help crying.这影片如此感人以至我们禁不住流下泪来。
• The suit made him look especially impressive.他穿上这套衣服真精神。