美国有线新闻 CNN 澳大利亚山火肆虐 致空气污染和断电

 

A resident of Sydney, Australia says at one point this week she thought her house was on fire. It wasn't but as the smoke blew into Sydney from the bushfires burning nearby, air quality dropped to hazardous¹ levels. Some Australians started complaining of burning eyes and the symptoms of asthma² and a haze³ has settled over Australia's largest city. The state it's in, New South Wales, is home to almost 8 million people. It's been dealing⁴ with bushfires for much of this month. They've destroyed hundreds of homes and killed four people. And more than 1,300 firefighters are still fighting the blazes in New South Wales and in the state that forms its northern border Queensland.

Meantime, one state west in South Australia more than 100 schools have closed because of incredibly dangerous conditions. The South Australian of Meteorology says any fires that start will be extremely hard to control. A total ban on starting new fires is in place. And like the ongoing⁵ power shutoffs we've told you about in California, electricity has been switched off to more than 10,000 people in South Australia. Officials don't want equipment starting any new bushfires. About 2.5 million acres of land have burned so far. It's late springtime in Australia when the region is prone⁶ to wildfires and high temperatures, strong winds and an ongoing drought are only making conditions more dangerous. Forecasters predict that Thursday will be another hot and dangerous day with windy conditions on the eastern part of the continent.

1 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

2 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

3 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 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。