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Text 1 "We Are
Still Alive!"
About earthquakes
It is a convulsion of
the superficial parts of the earth due to the release of accumulated
stress as a result of faults in strata or volcanic action.
While gentle earth tremors can occur in any religion of the
globe, the more severe ones usually occur near the edges of
the major ‘plates' that make up the earth's crust. The point
at which an earthquake shock originates is called the focus
and the point immediately above this on the earth's surface
is the epicenter. The intensity of the earthquake is reported
as measured by the Richter scale. Major earthquakes generally
measure between about 7 and 9, though in theory there is no
upper limit on the scale.
Minor earthquakes occur around the world
every day, some so small that they can only be "felt"
by sophisticated seismological instruments. But it is the
large earthquakes that preoccupy people's thoughts. Inhabitants
of areas that are prone to earthquakes want to know when to
expect "the Big One".
Seismologists are well aware that predicting
major earthquakes, their location and severity, is something
they have so far been unable to do with any accuracy. Internationally,
seismologists are still at the stage of trying to understand
the earthquake process.
A major earthquake in rural Lijiang region
in Yunnan province in February in 1996 caused extensive damage
to buildings, hundreds of deaths and more than 3000 injuries.
It was China's most devastating earthquake since 1988, when
at least 1000 people died in the south of the country. In
1976, an estimated 242,000 people died in Tangshan in Hebei
province. In Los Angeles, California, in January 1994 and
Kobe, Japan, in January 1995 - these quakes took seismologists
and relief agencies by surprise.
More about the story
After 11 days trapped
in the Hyatt ruins, Arnel Calabia's injured right hand was
gangrenous. Surgeons amputated three fingers, but he was otherwise
unharmed. Luisa "Jingjing" Mallorca emerged from
her ordeal with only minor abrasions and bruises. Pedrito
Dy survived 14 days beneath the debris without serious injuries.
Citing the "exemplary acts of heroism" of the miners,
then-president Corazon Aquino issued a presidential award
commending their "tireless and unselfish deeds performed
under extreme risk to life."
Language notes
1) Adjacent to the tower were seven floors of rooms that rose like steps.
（高楼边上是7层楼卧房，象一段楼梯似的挺立着。）
Adjacent to means very
close.
e.g. The council offices
are adjacent to the library.
2)
The
overhead lights went out.
（头顶上的灯灭了。）
Go out means stop burning or
shining.
e.g. Without more coal,
the fire will soon go out.
3)
Pedrito
arched his back against the mattress, desperately trying to
form an air space.
（帕吉特拱起背顶住床垫，不顾一切地试图形成一个空间。）
To arch means to make into the shape
of an arch.
e.g. The trees arched over
the path.
4）Jingjing Mallorca tripped over the debris.
（京京•莫洛卡被碎石绊倒了。）
To trip (over) means to catch one's
foot and lose one's balance.
e.g. The fisherman tripped
over a root and fell into the river.
5) Jingjing twisted to her side, struggling
to shift the debris from William's body, but she could not
budge the heaviest chunks.
（京京扭向一侧，吃力地把那些碎石从威廉身上移开，但她实在无法挪动最重的那些大石块。）
To budge means to move a little.
e.g. We tried to lift the
rock but it wouldn't budge.
6)
Arnel
Calabia bit his lip, trying to dull the pain from his trapped
right hand.
（阿恩尔•凯兰比尔咬紧嘴唇，试图减轻被困的右手的疼痛。）
To trap means to place firmly with
no possibility of escape.
e.g. Twenty miners were
trapped underground after the fire
7) His internal injuries were dragging him
relentlessly toward death.
（内伤无情地把他拽向死亡。）
To drag means to pull along with
great effort.
e.g. Why must you drag
me out to a concert on a cold night like this?
8) Her dust-caked face was bathed with a sweet,
cool draft.
（她那粘满灰尘的脸，沐浴在清新凉爽的空气中。）
To bathe means to spread over with.
e.g. The child's eyes were
bathed with tears.
9) Arnel clenched his jaw against the pain
as the miners saved through a wooden frame to free him.
（当矿工们锯开一个木头架来解救阿恩尔时，他咬紧牙关忍着疼痛。）
To free means to loosen (a person
that is prevented from moving).
e.g. Her dress got caught
on a rose bush, and she tore it when she tried to free herself
from the thorns.
Text 2 Darwin - Cyclone
Tracy in 1974
About Cyclone Tracy
A cyclone is the Southern
Hemisphere's version of a Hurricane, the only difference being
that cyclones rotate clockwise rather than
counter-clockwise....
Cyclone Tracy didn't appear to be a threat
to Darwin, Australia on the 23rd of December, 1974. Unfortunately
over the next day the storm would rapidly intensify and take
an unexpected looping turn to the east, placing an unprepared
Darwin right in the heart of the storms fury.
When Tracy finally struck
Darwin on Christmas day, she was nearly at Category 5 strength,
packing winds of 150 mph and carrying a 19 foot storm surge.
I t caused an estimated $1 billion in damage and required
the evacuation of 35,362 residents. In all, 70 percent of
Darwin's homes were destroyed or suffered severe structural
damage. All services - communications, power, water and sewerage
- were severed.
Language notes
1) The people of Darwin were well aware of
the threat of cyclone in their part of the world.
（达尔文市的人们清楚地知道到他们这个地区有龙卷风的威胁。）
Be aware of means having
knowledge of.
e.g. He said that the government
was acutely ( = very) aware of the problem.
2)
But because few of the storms ever hit the towns on the coast,
people had come to discount the warnings.
（但暴风雨极少袭击过海边的这座城镇，所以人们没有重视这一警告。）
Discount here means regard something
as less important.
e.g. Experts have discount
the possibility of a second earthquake in the area.
3) Houses were torn from the ground and thrown
several yards in all directions.
（房屋被掀起，抛出几码外，四处飞落。）
To tear means to remove by sudden
force.
e.g. Several trees were
torn up (=from the ground) in last night's storm.
4) As the full anger of Cyclone Tracy began
to die down, Peter Firth struggled out of his ruined house
and forced open the front door of the Auld's home.
（当怒吼的“特蕾西”龙卷风风力渐弱时，彼特•弗瑟挣扎着爬出倒塌的房子，用力打开奥德家的前门。）
To die down means to be come less
strong, violent.
e.g. The excitement soon died down.
5) The mother Mrs Vivianne Buffery described
the scene at the height of the storm.
（那位母亲，维维安•巴弗雷女士,描述了当时风力最劲时的情景。）
Height here means the main or most
active point.
e.g. The famine was at
its height.
6) The city was so badly hit that it was decided
to bring in bulldozers to knocked down whatever was left
standing.
（整座城市遭到了严重的破坏，最后人们决定用推土机铲除所有残留的建筑。）
To knock down here is to destroy and
remove the structure (a building, bridge, etc.)
e.g. Our house is being
knocked down to make way for a new road.
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