VOA标准英语2010年-Rescuers Help Survivors in Quake-Hit C

People gather around a fire on a street fearful of being inside because of aftershocks in Concepcion, 28 Feb 2010, following a devastating¹ earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, 27 Feb 2010

More than 300 people are reported killed in Chile after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit the center of the South American nation early Saturday, causing considerable destruction as well, and creating tsunami² warnings across the Pacific Ocean.

Rescuers worked frantically³ for hours on end to help survivors⁴ of the massive quake which was centered about 100 kilometers from the city of Concepcion but caused damage and many deaths in several parts of Chile.

Buildings and bridges collapsed⁶, fires broke out, cars were overturned, heaps of rubble⁷ were commonplace, and hospitals were accepting those who barely escaped alive.

One woman said it was terrible.  She said she thought she was not scared of earthquakes but then, she says, it looked like everything was going to collapse⁵.

Hundreds were made homeless, and many tried to salvage⁸ what they could of their possessions.

Chile experiences many earthquakes, but the early Saturday natural disaster was one of its most severe.  Experts said it was better equipped to deal with this earthquake, which was much stronger than the one that devastated⁹ Haiti last month.

In Washington, President Obama expressed fears about the death toll¹⁰.

"Early indications are that hundreds of lives have been lost in Chile and the damage is severe," said President Obama.  "On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the Chilean people. The United States stands ready to assist in the rescue and recovery efforts."

Sirens went off in Hawaii alerting residents to take precautions. Similar warnings were made across the Pacific region, from small island nations to Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

At the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii, scientists monitored incoming data, and tried to predict what might happen.

A tsunami is a series of huge water waves which can be caused by an earthquake. In 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami, which was caused by an undersea earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, killed over 200,000 people.
 

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 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。

3 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

4 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 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。

7 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。

8 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

9 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

10 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。