VOA标准英语2011--Tropical Storm Lee to Soak US Gulf Coast

Tropical Storm Lee to Soak US Gulf¹ Coast

The U.S. Gulf Coast is getting a major soaking this weekend from Tropical Storm Lee. The storm is expected to dump as much as 50 centimeters of rain in parts of the southern states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
With Tropical Storm Lee bearing down on the U.S. Gulf Coast, authorities are taking action.
Oil and gas producers shut down platforms and evacuated² workers from the Gulf, and the governors of Mississippi and Louisiana declared states of emergency.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal warned of the potential for flooding. "This is going to be a slow moving storm. There's going to be a lot of rain, and that water is going to accumulate. And I think the biggest concern is that you're going to have an accumulation of water because that water is going to pile up, it's going to come so quickly and for such a long time it's not going to be able to drain," he said.
One of the areas at risk is the Louisiana city of New Orleans. The city is more than two meters below sea level and shaped like a bowl, making it prone³ to flooding.
In 2005, New Orleans suffered devastating⁴ damage from Hurricane Katrina, and Mayor Mitch Landrieu is urging residents to be ready for Lee. "We are all prepared and should prepare for localised flooding and we've taken all necessary precautions to do that, and we're encouraging citizens in New Orleans to make their preparations. Again, you know, prepare for the worst and let's hope for the best," he said.
National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen says rain is the biggest worry for the city. "The good news for the New Orleans area and all along the southern Louisiana coastline is that we do not expect hurricane force winds such as we saw six years ago with Katrina. However, we do have a concern with the heavy rainfall, so their drainage systems and sewer⁵ systems and everything have a lot of water to handle, and I know the emergency managers have their hands full watching that," he said.
And even though Lee's winds will not reach hurricane strength, Feltgen says they could still pose a risk. "Tropical storm conditions, tropical storm force winds are going to be impacting all of the warning area today, and on top of that, a few tornadoes⁶ are possible from southern Louisiana all the way to the far western panhandle of Florida as the storm drifts its way along the coastline," he said.
Lee is the 12th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It is hitting the United States just a week after deadly Hurricane Irene ravaged⁷ the nation's east coast.
Forecasters are also monitoring Hurricane Katia, which regained⁸ hurricane status in the Atlantic on Friday, but is not currently a threat to any land area.
Experts predicted an active hurricane season this year, and Feltgen says conditions are right on target.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 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。

3 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

4 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。

5 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

6 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

7 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

8 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。