英語新聞一點通：無情洪災重創澳洲 @ 【精英翻譯】的部落格

Down Under Under Water

Australia is usually in the news for its droughts, not its floods. This year is different, though, and heavy rains have caused biblical flooding. Thousands of people have lost their homes, and life across the country isin chaos.

The worst rains were in the northern state of Queensland. Flooded riversburst their banks. In some areas, waters were nearly 10 metres over their normal levels. Many people had to evacuate, while in others, people worked to build defences to keep the water out. The damage will cost billions of dollars to repair.

Even worse, more rain is on the way. These heavy rains come from the La Niña weather system, which brings Australia unusually cold weather. Since La Niña could last up to 3 more months, Australians are facing a season of floods twice as long as Noah’s.

無情洪災重創澳洲

澳洲經常因為乾旱問題而成為新聞焦點，今年卻一反常態的出現洪災。連日的暴雨造成嚴重的水患，成千上萬的居民因此失去家園，全國民眾的生活陷入一片混亂。

澳洲北部的昆士蘭省受豪雨衝擊最為嚴重，河川潰堤造成部份災區的水位暴漲十公尺。許多人被迫撤離家園，其它民眾也紛紛建立臨時防禦措施，希望減少洪水所引發的災情。洪災所造成的損害預計將耗資數十億美元來修復。

更糟的是，據估計降雨量會持續增加。反聖嬰現象是造成豪雨的禍因，導致澳洲的天氣異常寒冷。由於反聖嬰現象可能持續長達 3個月，澳洲人將面臨比諾亞更為艱鉅的挑戰。

字彙

Down Under 澳洲
droughts 乾旱
floods 洪災
biblical flooding 非常嚴重的水患 (出自聖經故事)
in chaos 混亂
burst their/its banks 潰堤
evacuate 撤離
Noah 諾亞 (聖經故事人物)

解讀

In the West, writers often refer to the Christian bible. In one bible story, God floods the world for forty days, which is why ‘biblical flooding’ means very bad floods. Only Noah and his family survive. But Australia could still be getting floods for much longer than 40 days.

西方國家的作家經常引用聖經故事；其中一篇故事提及上帝因故製造的大洪災淹沒世界長達四十天，因此「biblical flooding」意指非常嚴重的水患。故事中只有諾亞和他的家人存活，而澳洲受到洪災的影響卻可能遠超過 40天。

文句練習

Thanks to the heavy snows at Christmas, the UK’s transport system is ____________.
The long periods of ________ in Africa are responsible for the continent’s food problems.
After Typhoon Morakat, the Taiwanese government promised to ______ people more quickly if necessary.
In countries where heavy rain is common, houses are often built on platforms to protect against _______.
When the Tam Shui river _____________ last year, the whole riverside park was under water.
We’re going on holiday ______________ next month, to see Ayer’s rock and the Sydney Opera House.

文句練習解答