VOA标准英语2009年-Powerful Earthquake Kills 75 in Indonesia,

By Brian Padden
Jakarta
30 September 2009

Indonesian officials say a powerful earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra has killed at least 75 people and trapped thousands under debris¹ and rubble². The underwater earthquake rocked western Indonesia Wednesday, briefly³ triggering fears of another tsunami⁴ for countries around the Indian Ocean.

 
Office workers gather outside their building after feeling an earthquake tremor⁵ in downtown Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 30 Sep 2009
The 7.6 earthquake occurred near the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra. Shock waves were felt in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia. A tsunami alert was initially⁶ issued for the region but hours later it was called off. The earthquake occurred one day after an 8.0 earthquake triggered a Tsunami that struck the Pacific island of Samoa.

Randy Baldwin a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Center says the two events were not related.

"There is quite a bit of distance separating the two different quakes, there is no relationship," he said. "It's just a very active region all the way around the perimeter⁷ of the Pacific Ocean."

He says the quake originated 50 kilometers northwest of of the city of Padang in southern Sumatra. The area is along the same fault line that spawned⁸ the massive 2004 India Ocean tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people.

Local media is reporting that hundreds of houses collapsed⁹ in Padang. Buildings have been damaged in the area. Some neighborhood have lost electricity and telecommunications. One news channel also reported incidents of people panicking and running in the streets.

One local resident who experienced the quake in the central Sumatra province of Jambi says people there did not panic.

He says they often get earthquakes in Sumatra, so they know what to do.

The Padang airport has been closed. Indonesian search and rescue teams are heading to the affected¹⁰ areas.

 

1 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

2 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

3 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

4 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

5 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

8 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

9 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。