新西兰英语 447 More after-shocks in Christchurch

 　　Christchurch had two big after-shocks today and many smaller ones. The first one, at 1 pm was 5.5. It felt very strong. Most schools closed after that and parents came to collect their primary school children. The next after-shock at 2.20 pm was 6.0. The centre of both shocks was 10km south-east of Christchurch and about 9km deep. The second after-shock is the third biggest shake Christchurch has had. First, the earthquake on September 4th was 7.1, then the shake on February 22nd was 6.3.

　　Once again there was liquefaction in the eastern part of Christchurch. Small volcanoes¹ of water and silt² burst through the ground in many places, flooding the roads. Some areas lost water and power as underground pipes and power lines broke. Listen to March 1st 2011 to hear more about liquefaction.

　　Buildings which were damaged before are now more damaged. In the CBD red zone (the Central Business District), more bricks³ and concrete fell. The cathedral in the Square has more damage.

　　Some people were injured but no one was seriously hurt. Many people, however, are very nervous.

　　All schools will be closed tomorrow so that officials can check the buildings to make sure they are safe.

　　Vocabulary

　　silt – is mud and sand

　　Earthquake or after-shock? Usually we think of after-shocks as being smaller than the first earthquake so the two today can be called “after-shocks”; however, because they were so big, we can also call them “earthquakes” or “shocks” or “shakes”.

　　Grammar

　　Note: biggest, second biggest, third biggest. We could also say, “third in size”, or “number three in size”. It is possible to say “I am the third tallest in my class”, “this is the third highest building in our city”, “she was the third fastest runner”.

1 volcanoes   

n.火山( volcano的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Volcanoes and geysers erupt. 火山和间歇喷泉均能喷发。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has been able to tell us more about active volcanoes than any man alive. 他现在比任何人都能更多地向我们讲述有关活火山的情况。 来自《用法词典》

2 silt   

n.淤泥，淤沙，粉砂层，泥沙层；vt.使淤塞；vi.被淤塞

参考例句：

• The lake was almost solid with silt and vegetation.湖里几乎快被淤泥和植物填满了。
• During the annual floods the river deposits its silt on the fields.每年河水泛滥时都会在田野上沉积一层淤泥。

3 bricks   

n.砖( brick的名词复数 )；砖块；积木；可靠的朋友

参考例句：

• He compounded water, sand and soil and formed bricks. 他用水拌和沙和泥土做成砖块。
• The United Auto Workers hit the bricks against General Motors. 联合汽车工人工会举行罢工，反对通用汽车公司。