英语学习笔记 How to cope with floods

✸✸THE extent of the devastation will become clear only when the floodwater recedes, leaving ruined cars, filthy mud choked houses and the bloated corpses of the drowned. But as we went to press, with the rain pounding South Texas for the sixth day, Hurricane Harvey had already set records as America’s most severe deluge (see briefing). In Houston it drenched Harris County in over 4.5trn litres of water in just 100 hours— enough rainfall to cover an eight-year-old child.

1）devastation 英[ˌdevəˈsteɪʃn] 美[ˌdevəˈsteɪʃn] n.毁坏;荒废;极度震惊或悲伤

Adam stumbles on, leaving a trail of devastation in his wake

亚当蹒跚而行，沿路留下毁坏的痕迹。

2）go to press 英[ɡəutu: pres] 美[ɡotuprɛs] 付梓，付印

The manuscript will go to press early next month.

原稿将于下月初付印。

3）deluge 英[ˈdelju:dʒ] 美[ˈdɛljudʒ] n.洪水;泛滥;倾盆大雨 vt.使淹没;使泛滥；大量涌来;大批泛滥；使涌现;使充满；涌现的事务；蜂拥而至的事务

A deluge of manuscripts began to arrive in the post

大量的手稿开始通过邮递涌来。

4）drenched 英[drentʃd] 美[drentʃd] adj.湿透的;充满的 v.使湿透( drench 的过去式和过去分词);在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

He was drenched with rain.

大雨浇得他全身都湿透了。

✸✸The fate of America’s fourth-largest city holds the world’s attention, but it is hardly alone. In India, Bangladesh and Nepal, at least1,200 people have died and millions have been left homeless by this year’s monsoon floods. Last month torrential rains caused a mudslide in Sierra Leone that killed over 1,000—though the exact toll will never be known. Around the world, governments are grappling with the threat from floods. This will ultimately be about dealing with climate change. Just as important, is correcting short-sighted government policy and the perverse incentives that make flooding worse.

1）grapple with 英[ˈgræpəl wið] 美[ˈɡræpəl wɪð] v.扭打，抓住;努力应付困境（或解决难题）

Managers have learned to grapple with networking, artificial intelligence, computer-ai dedengineering and manufacturing.

经理们已经学会了如何应对联网、人工智能、计算机辅助工程和制造。

2）short-sighted 英[ˈʃɔ:tˈsaɪtɪd] 美[ˈʃɔrtˈsaɪtɪd] adj.目光短浅的;近视的

Testing showed her to be very short-sighted.

检查表明她近视得很厉害。

✸✸The overwhelming good news is that storms and flooding have caused far fewer deaths in recent decades, thanks to better warning systems and the construction of levees, ditches and shelters. The cyclone that struck Bangladesh in 1970 killed 300,000-500,000 people; the most recent severe one, in 2007, killed 4,234. The bad news is that storms and floods still account for almost three-quarters of weather-related disasters, and they are becoming more common. According to the Munich Re, a reinsurer, their number around the world has increased from about 200 in 1980 to over 600 last year. Harvey was the third “500-year” storm to strike Houston since 1979.

1）far fewer 英[fɑ: ˈfju:ə] 美[fɑrˈfjuɚ] adj.比想像中少得多的

We found that television and radio gave rise to far fewer complaints than did the print edmedia.

我们发现电视和广播引发的投诉比印刷媒体要少多了。

2）account for 英[əˈkauntfɔ:] 美[əˈkaʊntfɔr] 说明（原因、理由等）;导致，引起;（在数量、比例上）占;对…负责

Now, the gene they discovered today doesn't account for all those cases.