Disaster Earth 地球灾难

cntic 2011-10-25

展开全文

本期文章
·	Disaster Earth 地球灾难
·	中文翻译
·	Building your vocabulary
·	Phrases for Learning
·	Extra Words

Disaster Earth 地球灾难

On March 11 of 2011, Japan and the world were given a wake-up call1 when a powerful natural disaster nearly destroyed the country. The 9.0-magnitude2 earthquake that struck northeastern Japan also led to a massive3 tsunami with over 40-meter waves. Even worse, the tsunami caused a series of nuclear4 accidents at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station. All this resulted in more than 15,000 deaths, nearly 13,000 people being injured or missing, and an estimated US$300 billion in damages.

While Japan is recovering from the disaster, it is only a matter of time before Seattle, Washington suffers the same fate. This city is located just east of the Cascadia fault, which stretches nearly 1,000 kilometers from Vancouver Island, Canada to northern California. Scientists fear that a megathrust earthquake5, like the one that hit Japan, is likely to destroy the entire area. Megathrusts are the world's largest earthquakes and occur when one tectonic plate is forced under another. This month, National Geographic Channel works with experts to discover more about this huge threat on "Disaster Earth."

2011年三月十一日，一场威力强大的天然灾害几乎摧毁日本，给予该国和全世界一个警讯。这场规模九点零的地震侵袭了日本东北部，并引发浪高超过四十公尺高的巨大海啸。更不幸的是，这场海啸还导致福岛核电厂发生一连串的核能意外。上述灾害共造成一万五千多人死亡、将近一万三千人受伤或失踪，损失估计达三千亿美元。

当日本正慢慢从这场灾难中复原时，相同的命运降临在华盛顿西雅图地区只不过是时间早晚的问题而已。卡斯凯迪亚断层从加拿大温哥华岛到加州北部绵延了将近一千公里长，而该城市就座落在此一断层的东方。科学家害怕袭击日本的这种大型逆冲区地震可能会再度发生、摧毁这整块地区。大型逆冲区地震是地球上规模最大的地震，当某个板块被挤压到另一个板块之下的时候就会发生。本月份，国家地理频道将在《地球灾难》节目中，连同专家进一步探索这种巨大的威胁。

disastern. 灾难，灾祸
Droughts, earthquakes, and floods are all natural disasters.
乾旱、地震和水患全都是天然灾害。
destroyvt. 毁坏，破坏
The scandal destroyed Scott's political career.
这则丑闻毁了史考特的政治生涯。
strikevt.（天灾、灾难等）侵袭，降临（三态为∶strike, struck, struck。）
A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck a city on the northern coast this morning.
一起规模六点零的地震在今早袭击了北边沿岸的某座城市。
injurevt. 使受伤
The pitcher left the game because he injured his throwing arm.
那位投手因为弄伤了他投球的那苹手臂而中途退场。
estimateda. 估计的，估算的
The estimated cost of completely remodeling the living room is NT$200,000.
将整间客厅重新翻修的预估价格为二十万元。
recovervi. 复原；恢复健康
Ned recovered from the fever after taking medicine for a few days.
在吃了好几天的药之後，奈德开始退烧并恢复健康。
stretch [ strEtS ] vi. 延伸，绵延
The beautiful beach stretches nearly 80 kilometers.
那片美丽的沙滩绵延了将近八十公里长。