VOA常速英语2021--龙卷风袭击美国，肯塔基州受灾最重

This is VOA News. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd.

这里是美国之音新闻。我是大卫·伯德，为您远程报道。

U.S. President Joe Biden sought to reassure¹ residents of several Midwestern states Saturday after a monstrous² tornado³ killed dozens of people in Kentucky and the death toll⁴ continued to climb.

美国总统拜登星期六试图安抚中西部几个州的居民。此前，一场巨大的龙卷风在肯塔基州造成数十人死亡，死亡人数还在继续攀升。

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said a twister touched down for more than 320 kilometers in his state and the number of deaths could exceed 100 across 10 or more counties.

肯塔基州州长安迪·贝希尔说，龙卷风在该州的登陆范围超过320公里，10个或者10多个县的死亡人数可能超过100人。

At a news conference, President Biden said federal emergency personnel have already been deployed⁵.

拜登总统在新闻发布会上表示，联邦紧急救援人员已经部署到位。

"I've spoken several times a day with the head of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as the director of FEMA who's already been deployed... had already deployed emergency response personnel, search and rescue teams, water and other supplies and FEMA is on the ground working with each of the states to assess the damages and focus on federal support, where it is needed most and how we can get there most rapidly."

“我一天之中与联邦应急管理局(FEMA)局长以及负责人交谈了好几次，FEMA已经部署了应急响应人员、搜救队、水和其他物资，FEMA正在现场和各州一起评估损失，重点是要把联邦支持送到最需要援助的地方，以及我们如何能最迅速地到达那里。”

The death toll across five states includes four people in Tennessee, two in Arkansas where a nursing home was destroyed, and one in both Missouri and Illinois where an Amazon facility was hit.

五个州的死亡情况包括：田纳西州4人死亡；阿肯色州2人死亡，该州一家养老院被毁；密苏里州1人死亡；伊利诺伊州1人死亡，该州的一家亚马逊工厂被击中。

The United States will send its top diplomat⁶ for Europe to Russia and Ukraine to discuss Russia's troop buildup and reiterate⁷ U.S. commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty.

美国将派遣负责欧洲事务的最高外交官前往俄罗斯和乌克兰，讨论俄罗斯的增兵行动，并重申美国对乌克兰主权的承诺。

The State Department said Saturday that Karen Donfried will travel to Kyiv, Ukraine, and Moscow, Russia, December 13 to 15 to meet with senior government officials to discuss Russia's military buildup and to reinforce the United States' commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial⁸ integrity.

美国国务院星期六说，卡伦·唐弗里德将于12月13日至15日前往乌克兰基辅和俄罗斯莫斯科，会见政府高级官员，讨论俄罗斯的增兵问题，并加强美国对乌克兰主权、独立性和领土完整的承诺。

Moscow has massed thousands of troops along the border with Ukraine but denies any plans to attack the nation and accuses Kyiv of its own allegedly aggressive designs.

莫斯科在俄乌边境集结了数千名士兵，但否认有任何攻击乌克兰的计划，并指责基辅有所谓的侵略企图。

This is VOA News.

这里是美国之音新闻。

1 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

2 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

3 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

4 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。

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

7 reiterate   

v.重申，反复地说

参考例句：

• Let me reiterate that we have absolutely no plans to increase taxation.让我再一次重申我们绝对没有增税的计划。
• I must reiterate that our position on this issue is very clear.我必须重申我们对这一项议题的立场很清楚。

8 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。