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赖世雄高级20课


Hello everyone, welcome again to Radio English on Sunday. This is Bruce,
/ and this is Peter.

/ Welcome today to unit twenty, please open your book to page one hundred sixty one, and let's take a look at Scourge of the Plains: Tornadoes.

/ Now I have a question. You sound a little bit under the weather.

/ Well, I guess I was out too late again last night.

/ You got a very heavy nasal something.

/ Yeah, I didn't get enough sleep, and well, maybe I should take care of myself.

/ Does it have to with uhh...your (Miss Ling) all the time?

/ Yes, I drink until I don't see you again. :D Actually.

/ Today we are talking about tornadoes. These are those twisters as Peter just mentioned; these terrible wind storms, for which the US is famous or maybe we should say "infamous". If you are famous for something bad, we say that you are infamous, that is famous前面加 in. 但是不念[in'feimes], 而要念['infemes]. 第一个音节重读。

/ or "notorious".

/ Good. Or infamous. Now not every place in the US has tornadoes often, some places seldom, if ever, had tornadoes. Today we'll tell you a little bit more about where tornadoes are more likely to be. Most importantly, what you should do in case you are traveling in North America, and there is a tornado in your area. What you should do to protect yourself.

/ ...some places seldom, if ever, had tornadoes, 这是个很好的句型。这个seldom 和 if ever 在一直的时候要先翻 if ever, 再翻 seldom. 有些地方即使有龙卷风也很少。

Peter seldom, if ever, studies.

/ Well, we know that. :D

Well, we don't know a lot about tornadoes, but I bet you will know a lot about them by the end of today's program. Let's get busy. Today's lesson, much of it, is in a form of a story. And for those of you who enjoy reading novels or literature, I hope you'll enjoy today's story. Let's get started.

Ellen Mae stepped out of her two-story home in central Illinois. "Fine morning," she said to herself after checking the weather, and then went back inside. The radio had mentioned a severe storm advisory, but the sky was clear and it was rather calm. Still, she decided to be safe and kept her radio on.

Our first paragraph takes us to central Illinois, which is in the central part of the US; the area we call mid-west. It is this area of the US where tornadoes are most likely to happen. The local weather bureau or even the national weather bureau may issue a severe storm advisory, saying that this area may have a period of very violent weather, so be careful, that's what advisory means. Allen Mae is a woman's name; she wanted to check this out herself, but when she looked at the sky, it was beautiful, even calm, which means no wind. Still she decided to play it safe and kept her radio on.

/ ..to play it safe, 稳稳地来，(做某事),

/ The boys wanted to go swimming in the ocean at night, but finally they decided to play it safe and they stayed on the shore.

/ to play it safe, ..but in terms of writing style, this is, I mean this article is more like a scream play. 用这个introduction的方式讲出来。Who wrote this?

/ Mmm, someone you know.

_____weather bureau, 气象局，气象台，

About noon, she felt a strange kind of pressure. Looking out of her window, she noticed that the sky had become overcast. Low, rounded, oddly colored clouds were forming. It was still and oppressive. "Maybe I'd better listen to the weather report again," she murmured to herself.

________oppressive,

adj.

Difficult to bear; burdensome:

难以忍受的，沉重的：

oppressive laws.

苛刻的法律

Exercising power arbitrarily and often unjustly; tyrannical.

压迫的武断地但不正当地利用权力的，威迫的

Weighing heavily on the senses or spirit:

精神或感觉上压抑的：

oppressive weather.

抑闷的天气

See: burdensome

adj

压迫的，暴虐的

压抑的，闷热的（天气）

A few hours later, she felt a certain kind of pressure, and below we see the adjective, she felt oppressive. This means that she felt that maybe "muggy", maybe air was very humid and it made her feel very uncomfortable maybe very sticky. She was sweating it was so hot and humid. So she looked outside and now it was overcast. There was strange clouds forming in the sky. So she decided to listen to the weather report again.

/ overcast, adj, ---> cloudy, overcast比cloudy更强，黑压压的一片云。。

pressure, under pressure,

Strange to say, some people work exceptionally well, or do exceptionally well under pressure.

Strange to say, 说来也怪，

So I often give Burce a lot of work, or no, a lot more work than expected or than he can expect, then he would do exceptionally well.

______overcast,

adj.

Covered or obscured, as with clouds or mist.

遮蔽的如被云雾遮住或掩藏的

Clouded over.

（天空）多云的，阴的

Gloomy; melancholy.

沮丧的；忧郁的

vi.

阴起来, 变阴暗

It's overcasting for rain.

天阴暗起来要下雨了。

overcast

adj.

多云的, 阴暗的; 阴郁的, 愁闷的

an overcast night

乌云密布的夜晚

Ok, let's take a look at the third paragraph.

Again, the radio forecast severe weather, warning citizens to listen for the siren and seek shelter should a twister, scourge of the plains, come down from the heavens like a "Devil's tail". "I doubt it'll happen over Crossville", she comforted herself. It always happens in other towns.

She did listen to the radio and again, there was a severe weather advisory. And the radio DJ, probably told the people, well, there may be a twister, or tornado, so listen for the siren. That is a very loud emergency electronic sound broadcast through an area, to let people know that there is some serious problem going on. And in the midwest, when you hear a siren, that means you must take shelter. You have to protect yourself from the tornado. We'll tell you how to do that later.

/ take shelter, 躲一躲，这个shelter前面记住，不能加a .不能说take a shelter.

It's raining very hard now, you'd better go into the room and take shelter there.

...should a twister...come down from the heavens like ...

= if a twister...should come down from ...

If you should do that again, I would punish you.

Should you do that again, I'll punish you.

By two o'clock it started to rain, and the wind picked up, too. The apple tree in front of Allen Mae's house started to pitch back and forth violently. Her dogs started to bark and howl, and that was when she heard that awful sound.

A couple hours later it started to rain and the wind picked up, or increased. And she noticed that the trees started to pitch, this means to go back and forth violently. The wind was now very very strong and even her dogs started to bark. They were afraid of something and that's when she heard a very terrible sound.

/ 这里的 pick up 表示速度开始加快起来。这个 pick up 还有一个用法，Where did you pick up your English, 还有一个用法，pick up the newspaper for me on your way back.

pitch, 剧烈地摇摆，

还有一个用法，架帐篷，let's pitch our tent here.

The last paragraph now on page one sixty one.

At first she thought it was a locomotive, but she quickly remembered that there was no railroad within twenty miles of her home. She looked into the sky and then noticed it, a dark, swirling mass of black cloud sucking up everything it touched and hurling objects at horrific speeds straight up or straight to the side. Allen Mae ran as fast as she could down into her storm cellar, a special room which had been prepared by her father when he was still alive. This room was located in the southwestern corner of the basement and had a door with a strong bolt. Allen Mae ran in, locked the door behind her, and waited.

_____bolt, n, v,

n.门闩, 螺钉, 闪电, 跑掉

v.上门闩, 囫囵吞下, 逃跑

Well now, it is clear to Allen Mae that, a tornado is coming. It makes a sound as loud as a train, and holds up into its turning funnel cloud, we call it; it's a swirling or twirling or twisting cloud, it pulls or sucks everything and then throws them away, throws them up or out. Well she was frightened then, ran down to the cellar, or the basement, into a special room which many people have in mid-west, mid-western states, to protect themselves from tornadoes.

/ bolt,

有一个用法，a bolt of lightning, 一道闪电，a peal of thunder. ----> rumble,

Now let's go ahead.

She didn't have long to wait, with shrieking and swooshing sound right out of hell, the funnel cloud passed directly over her house. An enormous vacuum cleaner, twister blew the house apart, scattering five generations of Allen Mae's family belongings, over half the rural county she lived in. Within minutes, the wind had stopped, and an eerie silence replaced the cacophony of moments earlier. Feeling it was now safe to venture out, Allen Mae unbolt the door, peered out and started to cry. She could look straight up into the sky, even though she had lost her house and everything in it, she felt lucky. She knew that every year hundreds of people could perish in tornadoes.

_________funnel,

n.

A conical utensil having a small hole or narrow tube at the apex and used to channel the flow of a substance, as into a small-mouthed container.

漏斗一种顶端有一小洞或窄管用于输导流动物质进入小口容器的圆锥形器皿

Something resembling this utensil in shape.

漏斗状物外形象漏斗的物体

v.tr.

To cause to take the shape of a funnel.

使成漏斗状

To cause to move through or as if through a funnel.

使或使看似流经漏斗

funnel cloud

【气】漏斗云

漏斗

He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.

他用一个漏斗把汽油灌进汽车。

funnel

vt, vi

从漏斗中通过

通过烟筒或通道

The crowd funnelled through the gate.

人群从大门通过。

使成为漏斗状

He funnelled his hands.

他把手弄成漏斗状。

_________eerie,

Suggestive of the supernatural; mysterious.

神秘怪异的带点迷信的；神秘的

See: weird

_________cacophony, n.刺耳的音调, 不协和音, 杂音

Jarring, discordant sound; dissonance:

刺耳的声音不和谐的，不协和的声音；不协调；：

heard a cacophony of horns during the traffic jam.

交通阻塞时，听到一片不和谐的喇叭声

The use of harsh or discordant sounds in literary composition, as for poetic effect.

突变音文艺创作中为获得诗意效果而运用的刺耳的或不和谐的声音

_________perish,

perish

v.intr.

To die or be destroyed, especially in a violent or untimely manner:

丧生死或被害，尤的指在暴力下或以突然的方式：

揗ust then a Christ perish in torment in every age to save those who have no imagination??George Bernard Shaw)

“那基督必须每年为拯救那些缺乏想象力的人们而受一次死亡的折磨吗?”(乔治·伯纳德·肖)

To pass from existence; disappear gradually:

消亡消失；渐渐消失：

揗an will go down into the pit, and all his thoughts will perish?A.J. Balfour)

“人最终会入土，他所有的思想也将随之而消亡”(A.J.贝尔福)

vi.

毁灭, 灭亡, 死去

枯萎, 腐烂, 腐朽

The city perished in an earthquake.

这城在一次地震中毁灭。

When a tornado goes over your house, it would be the most unforgettable moment of your life. This huge wind and sound can destroy a house in just a minute, not even a minute. It will (enplod) your house, uhh, I am sorry, the house will explode. That's what happens because the funnel cloud pulls all over the air out of your house, and it will blow up the doors and windows and probably the walls, too. And this explosion will scatter or spread everything in your house up into the windstorm, which blows it out over along the area. Still, Allen Mae was lucky because she didn't die in this tornado, however, every year in North America, sometimes hundreds of people die in tornadoes.

/ belongings, 记住这个字始终是要用复数的，随身物品，valuables, 也一样。贵重的东西，

When you get out the train, don't forget to carry ...other people's belongings with you. :D 这是Bruce 常教我的...:D

/ :D

/ Your personal belongings.

/ You know, it's no problem if I forget my valuables when I leave the train.

/ Uhh-humm?

/ I don't have any. :D

/ You are broke all the time?

/ All the time.

Ok, let's continue. 1655

Just what are these devil storms? They go by many names across the great plains of the US and Canada, not to mention many other countries around the world, but tornadoes are perennial plagues in central North America. The conditions there, flat land and proximity to cold air masses (from the Rocky Mountains to the west) and warm and humid air masses (from the Gulf of Mexico to the south) provide the optimum breeding ground for tornadoes. According to the US national weather service, tornados form from thunderclouds and can reach swirling speeds in excess of six hundred kilometers per hour. They last for minutes to an hour or more, and can blast their way across as much as one hundred fifty kilometers of terrain at about fifty kilometers per hour. They vary in width, from a few meters to fifteen hundred meters, average two hundred meters. And they strike fear into the hearts of everyone.

_____blast,

n.

A very strong gust of wind or air.

强风一阵突然的强风或气流

The effect of such a gust.

风力这阵强风或气流引起的效果

A forcible stream of air, gas, or steam from an opening, especially one in a blast furnace to aid combustion.

吹风，送风从出口，尤其是从助燃鼓风炉的出口出来的空气，其他气体或蒸汽气流

A sudden loud sound, especially one produced by a stream of forced air:

巨响一声巨响，尤指由一股受挤压的空气发出的响声：

a piercing blast from the steam whistle.

汽笛发出尖锐的响声

The act of producing such a sound:

发出巨响发出此声音的动作：

gave a blast on his trumpet.

他让喇叭发出尖响

A violent explosion, as of dynamite or a bomb.

爆炸爆炸，如炸药或炸弹的爆炸气浪或冲击波

The violent effect of such an explosion, consisting of a wave of increased atmospheric pressure followed immediately by a wave of decreased pressure.

震动爆炸引起的强烈效果，包括一股被升高的气压，紧接一股低气压

An explosive charge.

爆炸的炸药量

v.tr.

To knock down or shatter by or as if by explosion; smash.

击毁通过爆炸或好象经过爆炸一样击落或击毁；摧毁

To play or sound loudly:

尖响发出或制造尖响的声音：

The referees blasted their whistles.

裁判高声吹哨

To hit with great force:

用力撞击：

The batter blasted the ball to right field.

击球手挥出一个右外野球

To kill or destroy by hitting or shooting.

摧毁撞击或射击至死或毁灭

To have a harmful or destructive effect on.

损坏对…产生伤害或破坏结果

To cause to shrivel, wither, or mature imperfectly by or as if by blast or blight:

枯萎使枯萎，萎缩或发育不良，由枯萎病或就象由枯萎病所致：

crops that were blasted by frost.

被霜冻坏的庄稼

To make or open by or as if by explosion:

炸开用或似乎用炸药炸开：

blast a tunnel through the mountains.

在山中炸开一条隧道

To criticize or attack vigorously.

猛烈攻击严厉批评或猛烈攻击

a blast of cold wind

一阵冷风

a blastwave

冲击波

a rocket blast

(火箭)发动机的火舌

H-bomb blast

氢弹爆炸

n

（一阵）疾风；强气流

an icy blast of wind

一阵冰冷的风

A blast of wind blew the window and the door agape

一阵风把门和窗子都吹开了。

（爆炸所引起的）冲击波

The blast from the bomb blew out all the windows in the area.

炸弹爆炸的冲击波震破了这个地区的所有窗户。

管乐器等的声音

The driver gave a blast on his horn.

汽车司机按了一下喇叭。

He blew several loud blasts on his whistle.

vt

炸开（岩石）

They've blasted away the rock to build the new road.

他们已炸掉这块岩石以便修一条新的路。

They're trying to blast away the hill to pave the way for the new highway.

他们试图炸掉这座小山丘为新公路通过。

用炸药炸

使枯萎而死

The icy wind had blasted the new spring growth.

寒冷的风摧毁了春天才生长出来的东西。

咒骂

Blast it!

活该!;该死!

Blast him!

活该!;该死!

_____in width, adv, 在宽度方向上，

　

As you could tell, this paragraph is more scientific. It explains that tornadoes in North America are often found on the Great Plains, usually in the spring and summer month, by the way. And, the reason for this is given in the paragraph, notice the speed. Six hundred kilometers per hour, is about three times stronger than a typhoon. However, they are much smaller. They are usually only about two hundred meters across but anything within that two hundred (kilo) meters will probably be destroyed.

Let's continue.

The safest place to be when a tornado is in one's area is basement, preferably the southwest corner, where the tornado normally comes from. If driving, track due north or south, as tornadoes usually move from west to east. Weather prediction and tracking these days is far superior to earlier years, but tornadoes can appear without any warning at all, as a large one did, right in the heart of Salt lake City in nineteen ninety nine, leaving a trail of shocked, wounded and dead, as well as pulverized property.

　

Tornadoes, if you are near one, go down to the basement, if the mid-west, almost everybody has a tornado cellar, and in the southwestern corner of the basement, and if you are living there, usually the university or your business, will tell you what to do in case of tornado. Even though we can sometimes know when the tornado is coming, sometimes we don't. Even in the big city like Salt Lake City, right downtown they had a tornado last year. And it killed a number of people and destroyed a lot of property. There's no way to stop them and they cannot always be predicted, either.

/...if driving, track due north or south, could you please explain this in simple English?

/ If you're driving a car in the US and there is a tornado that you can see or you know there is one in the neighborhood, drive to the north, take a road which is going straight north, or straight south, and you will have a better chance to get away from the wind.

Though relatively few people have ever seen a tornado, those who have wish they hadn't. The "finger of God" is nature's atmospheric fury at its worst.

______fury, ['fjueri]

n.

pl. fu.ries;

【复数】 fu.ries;

Violent anger; rage.

狂怒暴怒；愤怒

See: anger

Violent, uncontrolled action; turbulence.

骚乱狂暴、不加控制的行动；混乱

He flew into fury when I said I couldn't help him.

当我说不能帮助他时, 他立刻暴跳如雷。

n

furies

愤怒；狂怒

fly into a fury for the slightest reason

为一点小事就发火

猛烈；狂暴

the fury of the storm

暴风雨的猛烈冲击

At last the fury of the storm lessened.

风暴的猛烈程度终于降低了。

狂怒的人；狂怒的妇女；狂怒的女孩

a jealous fury

善妒的泼妇

______pulverize, v, 研磨成粉，

v.tr.

To pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust.

将…捣、击或磨成粉末

To demolish.

摧毁

pulverize

v.intr.

To be ground or reduced to powder or dust.

被磨或压成粉或末

If you've seen a tornado you'll never forget one, especially if you've been in one or near one. Because the windstorm is nature's most furious, it's like wind from hell, so be careful when you are in the midwest and try to protect yourself.

Well, we have just about enough time now to go back for our rereading. I'll reread the whole story again, and then the ending, a more scientific ending of the article. And then maybe if we'll have a minute or so, Peter will point out a couple of special words for usages for us.

2143.

/ The finger of God, 龙卷风的样子好象有点象根手指。

/ And they also call it, therefore, the "Devil's tail". 恶魔的尾巴，

Well, that's it for today's lesson. We hope you learned about tornadoes, especially how to protect yourself. Join us next time.

　

____________Pan. 2003. 9.23

*******************************************

Lesson 20, Scourge of the Plains: Tornadoes

平原之祸－－－龙卷风

　

Ellen Mae stepped out of her two-story home in certral Illinois. "Fine morning," sae said to herself after checking the weather, and then went back inside. The radio had mentioned a severe storm advisory, but the sky was clear, and it was rather calm. Still, she decided to be safe and kept her radio on.

About noon she felt a strange kind of pressure. Looking out her window, she noticed the sky had become overcast. Low, rounded, oddly colored clouds were forming. It was still and oppressive. "Maybe I'd better listen to the weather report again," she murmured to herself.

Again the radio forecast severe weather, warning citizens to listen for the siren and seek shelter should a twister, scourge of the plains, come down from the heavens like a "Devil's tail." "I doubt it'll happen over Crossville," she comforted herself. "It always happens in other towns."

By two o'clock it started to rain, and the wind picked up, too. The apple tree in front of Ellen Mae's house started to pitch back and froth violently. Her dogs started to bark and howl, and that was when she heard that awful sound.

At first she thought it was a locomotive, but she quickly remembered that there was no railroad within 20 miles of her home. She looked into the sky and then noticed it, a dark, swirling mass of back cloud sucking up everything it touched and hurling objects at horrific speeds straight up or straight to the side. Ellen Mae ran as fast as she could down into her storm cellar, a special room which had been prepared by her father when he was still alive. This room was located in the southwestern corner of the basement and had a door with a strong bolt. Ellen Mae ran in, locked the door behind her, and waited.

She didn't have long to wait. With shrieking and swooshing sounds right out of hell, the funnel cloud passed directly over her house. An enormous vacuum cleaner, the twister blew the house apart, scattering five generations of Ellen Mae's family belongings over half the rural country she lived in. Within minutes, the winds had stopped, and an eerie silence replaced the cacophony of moments earlier. Feeling it was now safe to venture out, Ellen Mae unbolted the door, peered out, and started to cry. She could look straight up into the sky. Even though she had lost her house and everything in it, she felt lucky. She knew that every year, hundreds of people could perish in tornadoes.

Just what are these "devil storms"? They go by many names across the great Plains of the United States and Canada, not to mention many other countries around the world, but tornadoes are perennial plagues in central North America. The conditions there---flat land and proximity to cold air masses (from the Rocky Mountains to the west) and warm and humid air masses (from the Gulf of Mexico to the south) provide the optimum breeding ground for tornadoes. According to the US National Weather Service, tornadoes form from thunderclouds and can reach swirling speeds in excess of 600 kilometers per hour. They last from minutes to an hour or more and can blast their way across as much as 150 kilomiters of terrain at about 50 kilometers per hour. They vary in width from a few metres to 1500 meters (average 200 meters). And they strike fear into the hearts of everyone.

The safest place to be when a tornado is in one's area is a basement, preferably the southwest corner (where the tornado normally comes from). If driving, track due north or south, as tornadoes usually move from west to eat. Weather prediction and tracking these days is far superior to earlier years, but tornadoes can appear without any warning at all, as a large one did right in the heart of Salt Lake City in 1999, leaving a trail of shocked, wounded, and dead as well as pulverized property.

Though relatively few people have ever seen a tornado, those who have wish they hadn't. The "Finger of God" is nature's atmospheric fury at its worst.