VOA标准英语2011--Rescue Efforts Continue After Turkey Earthquake

Rescue Efforts Continue After Turkey Earthquake

Search efforts are continuing in southeastern Turkey for survivors¹ of Sunday's powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake. The number of dead reported has exceeded 200 and the death toll² is expected to continue to rise.

Rescue workers are racing³ against time to find the hundreds of people believed to be trapped under the rubble⁴ of buildings that fell after the the quake.

Authorities say the 7.2 magnitude quake collapsed⁵ or severely⁶ damaged thousands of buildings.

Despite battling against the numerous aftershocks, rescue efforts have been successful.

A women is dug out of her collapsed apartment block after being trapped for 10 hours. She calls out for her mother, who was injured.

Rescuers work to save people from of collapsed buildings in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, October 24, 2011.

The survivors are from the town Ercis, one of the worst hit areas where as many as 100 buildings were reported collapsed.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Van, the main city in the quake stricken region, late Sunday. He warned there may still be worse news to come.

He says the biggest concern is for the villages, because the buildings are made of clay and mud and are more vulnerable to quakes. He says almost all buildings in such villages are destroyed.

With the telephone system failing in many places, there has been little news from the area. Many of the roads have also been cut, adding to the difficulties of rescue efforts.

The remote and mountainous southeastern region of Turkey where the quake struck is one of the poorest parts of the country. Weather conditions worsened late Sunday, with freezing temperatures and forecasts for snow.

People rescue a woman trapped under debris7 after a powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey, collapsing8 about 45 buildings in Van province,October 23, 2011.

Turkey has received offers of help from numerous countries including the United States, Greece and Israel.

But Erdogan told reporters he has declined most offers of help.

Turkey is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it sits on major geological fault lines.

In 1999, two earthquakes registering more than seven points on the Richter scale killed almost 20,000 people in densely⁹ populated parts of the north-west of the country.

 

1 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

2 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。

3 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

4 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。

5 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。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 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。

8 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

9 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。