Unit 4 More practice
The ice storm
冰暴
It was a dark day in Canada in 1998 when rain began to fall from the sky.
1998 年,对加拿大来说,是一个黑暗的日子,雨开始从天上掉下来。
However, this was not ordinary rain-it turned to ice as it fell through the cold air.
然而,这不是普通的雨,因为它通过冷空气,下降过程中就变成了冰。
It rained for six days, and as much as ten centimetres of ice collected on roads, trees and power lines.
雨下了六天,在道路上、树木上和电线上,集聚了厚达十厘米的冰。
On 5th January, the people of Montreal woke up to find they had no electricity in their homes.
1 月 5 日,蒙特利尔人醒来时发现,他们家中停电了。
It was dark and cold. The roads were covered in ice, so it was very dangerous to walk or drive anywhere.
黑暗和寒冷笼罩着,道路被冰雪覆盖,所以无论步行或驾车去任何地方都是非常危险的。
Families had to stay inside and burn wood to keep warm. They expected the power to come back on at any time.
每家都不得不困在家里,燃烧木材取暖,他们期待着供电能随时恢复。
However, the ice kept falling. It caused branches and whole trees to fall down.
然而,冰雨还在不断下着。树枝被压断,整棵树倒下。
More power lines fell down, and the roads became even more dangerous.
更多的电线掉了下来,道路变得更加危险。
By the third day, many families had no food to eat. It was a difficult time. The army sent over 14,000 soldiers to help.
到了第三天,许多人家里开始没东西吃了。这是一个艰难的时刻。军队派出超过 14,000 名士兵参与救援。
Finally, after six days, the ice storm stopped, but the trouble was not over. The huge amount of ice made the whole area very dangerous.
最后,六天过后,冰雨停了,但灾难并没有结束。因冰量巨大,使得整个地区都非常危险。
As the ice started to melt, it fell from the roofs of buildings and trees like knives.
由于冰开始融化,像刀一样从建筑物和树木上坠下来。
Most of the power lines were so badly damaged that they could not be repaired.
大部分的电力线路被严重损毁,无法进行修复。
Some families had no electricity for a whole month. Many homes were damaged and many people, especially farmers, lost their businesses.
有些家庭整整停了一个月的电。许多房屋被破坏,许多人——尤其是农民——失去了他们的生计。
The people of Canada will never forget how terrible nature can be.
加拿大人民永远不会忘记大自然有多么可怕。
Everyone hopes that there will never be another ice storm like the one in 1998.
每个人都希望永远不会再有另一个像 1998 年那样的冰暴。