2006年VOA标准英语-Eruption of Volcano Imminent; Indonesian G

By Marianne Kearney
Jakarta
13 May 2006

Mount Merapi in photo taken from Bebeng villages in Yogyakarta, central Java, May 13 2006   
  
Indonesia has raised the alert level for the Merapi volcano in central Java to the highest level. And the government has started evacuating¹ the 34,000 people living on the slopes of the volcano, which is about 400 kilometers east of Jakarta.

-------------------------------------

Asnawarin Nasution, a scientist from the national volcanology center in Bandung, explains that the massive lava² dome³ that crowns Merapi has been growing at an alarming rate.

"The dome [is] also already is becoming higher and higher, so we worried that something [would] happen," he said. "The dome already, I heard it [has] become one million cubic meters, and, every day, I heard it increase 150,000 cubic meters, nearly every day." 

Once the dome collapses⁴, streams of lava, which scientists call pyroclastic flow, are expected to pour rapidly down the mountain's slopes via several rivers.

"There are several rivers that are sourced from the summit," said Asnawarin Nasution. "We worry that the pyroclastic flow, that is called wudus gendol, according to [the] local name, that we worried about the flowing down the river, because, maybe, you know, already, the height of the summit is 3,000 meters. It is a very, very steep slope, that also increases the speeding when the lava [is] coming down."

At one of several government evacuation centers near Merapi, government official Agnes Kurnia says that thousands began evacuating at 8 a.m. Saturday, when the alert was raised.

"So far 1,183 people have evacuated⁵ since this morning. We have not processed all, because more are still coming. We expect around 4,500," she said.

She points out that people fleeing the volcano could feel its heat, and that animals had started to panic, which locals believe is a sign of imminent⁶ eruption⁷.

Merapi, one of more than 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, began to show signs of life a few months ago. The mountain last erupted in 1994, sending out a searing cloud of gas that killed 60 people. In 1930, its largest eruption in recent memory, 1,300 people were killed.

1 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

2 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

3 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

4 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

5 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

6 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

7 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。