BBC 报道
我摘录了一些 BBC 报道的标题截图,带大家从这些标题中学几个哇塞的单词。
1. evacuate
"v. to move people from a place of danger to a safer place",(把人从危险的地方)疏散,转移,撤离
短语结构:evacuate sb from ...
2. sweep down
席卷;突袭;吹倒
这里标题省略了被动语态中的 be 动词 were,所以完整的谓语应该是 "were swept down",意思是一个女人被迅猛的洪水冲下了街道。
3. flood terror
terror 是名词,可理解为恐怖的事。直译为中国洪水恐怖事件,不太符合中文的语言习惯。再来看 as 后面的内容,火车车厢被淹没,这是“中国洪水恐怖事件”的结果,“洪水恐怖事件”导致“车厢被淹”,所以这里可以意译为“中国洪水泛滥,火车车厢被淹没”。
4. chest-high
chest-high 是名词 + 形容词组成的复合形容词,意思是“齐胸的”,这样的复合形容词还有很多,如:
ice-cold 冰冷的
life-long 终生的
nation-wide 全国性的
snow-white 雪白的 等等。
5. hit
hit 是个小词,但又很重要,意思也很多,需要多多了解。
短语结构:hit sb/sth
这里作为及物动词:"to have a bad effect on sb/sth", 产生不良影响;打击;危害
例句:"The tax increases will certainly hit the poor.", 增税肯定会加重穷人的负担。
这里再说一下 hit 常用的一个名词意思:sth popular
a hit musical/record/single 风靡一时的音乐剧/唱片/单曲唱片
补充知识:英文新闻标题为了简洁,强调重点,一般会省略一些冠词,助动词及句尾句号;一般会使用分号或逗号代替 and;使用冒号代替 say、 tell、 report 等词引入或解释接下来的内容;把双引号变成单引号(为了节省空间,突出重点)。
接下来看看一篇文章
这篇文章是讲中国人们团结一致运用微博来帮助河南受灾群众,看看 BBC 是如何报道的。
准备好你的脑细胞,开始...
Chinese people are using social media to help speed up rescue efforts after deadly floods engulfed Henan province.
At least 33 people have died there after a year's worth of rain fell in three days in Zhengzhou city.
Users of the Weibo social media platform connected people who were stuck or in danger with professional rescue teams and other helpers.
However some posts which mention people being trapped or asking for help have been removed from Weibo.
The Chinese government employs millions of people to monitor and censor internet activity. Past disasters such as the sinking of a ship on the Yangtze River in 2015 saw some social media posts removed in order to maintain stability and prevent anti-government sentiment.
With the floods in Zhengzhou, many people shared tales of horror and pleaded for help online. In response, thousands of people on social media directed their Weibo posts to emergency rescue teams so that they knew where to go.
When news emerged that some trains were being stranded after rail lines had become submerged, people put together lists of each train number and the resources its passengers needed.
Some put together text-only versions of critical contact lists, after discovering that people in some areas could not download images because heavy rains had affected internet speeds.
People also helped to organise streams of information so that it was up-to-date and clear.
According to local media reports, residents living near the Tielu Railway Station also delivered food and bottled water to passengers stuck in a train after a related hashtag was viewed more than 800 million times.
While some focused on giving emergency rescue advice, others shared information on mental health support and personal hygiene tips.
A hashtag related to menstruation amid the floods had more than 200 million views, as doctors and social workers reminded women to change their sanitary pads frequently to avoid the risk of infection. Others posted addresses to locations where women could collect free sanitary products.
But there have also been cases where posts about the floods have been censored. These are mainly from individuals requesting help, rather than people criticising the government.
Free Weibo, a site that determines whether posts have been censored, said these posts included reports of people trapped at a school, elderly people in need of oxygen and thousands of people trapped on a campus.
One post asked whether authorities should be held accountable.
速看单词
engulf v.包围,吞没,淹没
censor v.审查,删减
plead for help ... 寻求帮助
strand v.使滞留,使搁浅
hashtag n.标签
personal hygiene 个人卫生
menstruation n.月经
sanitary pads 卫生巾
accountable adj. 有责任的;有解释义务的;可解释的
总结
通过阅读外刊来学习英语是非常有效的方式之一,这篇文章分析了 BBC 关于河南洪灾的几篇报道的标题,再加上一篇具体内容的泛读。大家可以记一下热点新闻的英文表达方式,再通过文末的文章进行泛读,提高阅读速度,了解相关信息。今天的阅读到此结束,谢谢大家!