CNN新聞英語精華初級：羅克漢普頓市與其他地方的聯(lián)系被切斷

澳大利亞羅克漢普頓市與全國其他地方的聯(lián)系完全被切斷

羅克漢普頓市，澳大利亞昆士蘭州中東部城市。位于菲茨羅伊河畔，距克佩爾灣口60千米，距布里斯班西北523千米。人口7.5萬，面積187平方千米。為聯(lián)系內河及沿海運輸?shù)暮痈?，外港阿爾馬為遠洋運輸深水港。有海濱浴場及山區(qū)石灰?guī)r洞穴游覽地。

2011年1月4日，澳大利亞東部地區(qū)因持續(xù)暴雨遭受近50年來最嚴重的洪災，僅昆士蘭和新南威爾士兩州的直接經濟損失就已達到60億澳元。澳大利亞聯(lián)邦政府已啟動緊急援助計劃，幫助民眾應對災情。

That is where the city of Rockhampton is completely cut off from the rest of the country. Emergency workers were trying to get food and supplies to the people there. But it is floods that have closed down every highway leading into the city. And get this: The regional airport was shut down on Sunday, and officials say it could be closed for weeks. Rockhampton is home to around 75,000 people, but thousands of them don’t have homes any more. Flood waters destroyed the houses. The flooding is also being blamed for several deaths. A CNN meteorologist predicted that the flooding will reach its highest point tomorrow, but it could be days before the conditions there get any better. Australia’s prime minister toured the region last week and said the floods will cost “hundreds of millions of dollars”.

這里是羅克漢普頓市完全與全國其他地方切斷的地方。救援人員正努力向那里的人們輸送食物和補給。但是洪水切斷了通向該市的所有高速公路。該地區(qū)的機場已于周日關閉，政府官員表示，機場可能會關閉數(shù)周之久。羅克漢普頓市大約有7.5萬人，但數(shù)千人已無家可歸，洪水沖毀了房屋。此外，洪水還造成多人死亡。CNN一位氣象學家預測，洪水將于明天到達最高峰，但是數(shù)天之后那里的緊張局勢才會有所緩解。澳大利亞總理上周視察了該地區(qū)，他說，這次洪水將造成“數(shù)億美元”的損失。

1. 0’10’’ But it is floods that have closed down every highway leading into thecity.

此句中，播音員將floods重讀，并且在floods與that之間停頓，既突顯了it is...that...句型，又強調了“洪水”這一因素。

2. 0’32’’ A CNN meteorologist predicted that the flooding will reach its highest point tomorrow, but it could be days before the conditions there get any better.

在聽此句時，需要注意predicted一詞。一般而言，在聽到predict、suggest這類表示預測性的詞語時需要留意，它很可能代表某人對此事件的觀點態(tài)度。此外，這句話中的highest被重讀，強調了這位氣象家預測的明天會是最高點。

3. 0’40’’ Australia’s prime minister toured the region last week and said the floods will cost “hundreds of millions of dollars” .

這句話中有一個數(shù)量的表達方法，播音員讀的hundreds of millions，它的意思是“數(shù)億”，而“數(shù)十億”則是billions，大家要知道這些表達方法。