飓风厄玛席卷美洲，对墨西哥、古巴等国及美国多个州造成了严重的人员伤亡和财产损失。
CNN 新闻：飓风厄玛给美洲带来严重损害
燕山大学 刘立军 宋葳 编写
◆TRANSCRIPT
What remains of Hurricane Irma has moved inland. Last night, the storm had howled through Georgia, toward Alabama and Tennessee, and was expected to clip several other southern states. But its greatest toll on the U.S. was in Florida, where it made landfall.
Last night, an estimated 65 percent of the state was without power and the White House said some places wouldn't get it back for weeks. The Keys and island chain off Florida's southern tip took a direct hit and official there said there was no cell service, no electricity, no running water.
Satellite phones and landlines were being used to communicate.
Some streets in Miami were underwater. The city's airport closed because of water damage.
And while the Gulf Coast city of Tampa was not damaged as badly as many expected, and there wasn't much storm surge, the Atlantic coast city of Jacksonville saw a record storm surge, the rise in sea levels blown ashore. There was immense flooding there that officials expected to get worse.
Storm surge warnings remain in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, and as the U.S. gets its first look at Irma's effects, parts of Cuba are grappling with severe damage. Irma killed 10 people there and at least 36 total throughout the Caribbean. Cuba and some other islands weather Irma as a category five storm.
Adapted from 飓风厄玛给美洲带来严重损害
◆VOCABULARY
1.howl v. (单独使用的动词) (of the wind 风) to blow hard and make a long loud noise 怒号；呼啸。例如：
○The wind was howling around the house. 狂风在房子四周呼啸。
○to say sth. loudly and angrily 怒吼
2. clip v. (意外地)斜撞，侧击 If something clips something else, it hits it accidentally at an angle before moving off in a different direction. 例如：The lorry clipped the rear of a tanker and then crashed into a second truck. 大货车斜撞上一辆油罐车的尾部，接着又撞上了另一辆货车。
3.toll n. (可数名词, 常用单数形式) the amount of damage or the number of deaths and injuries that are caused in a particular war, disaster, etc. （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏；伤亡人数。例如：
○The official death toll has now reached 7,000. 官方公布的死亡人数现已达7000人。
○the war's growing casualty toll 不断增长的战争伤亡人数
◆QUESTIONS
Read the statements. Then listen to the news and check (√) the true or (×) false statements.
1. Hurricane Irma's greatest toll on the U.S. was in Florida, where it made landfall.
2. Last night, an estimated 65 percent of Tennessee was without power and the White House said some places wouldn't get it back for weeks.
3. Some streets in Miami were underwater. However, the city's airport didn't close.
4. The Atlantic coast city of Jacksonville saw a record storm surge, the rise in sea levels blown ashore.
5. Irma killed 10 people in Cuba and more than 36 total throughout the Caribbean.
◆KEY
√1. Hurricane Irma's greatest toll on the U.S. was in Florida, where it made landfall.
×2. Last night, an estimated 65 percent of Tennessee was without power and the White House said some places wouldn't get it back for weeks. 正确表达：Last night, an estimated 65 percent of the state was without power and the White House said some places wouldn't get it back for weeks. （the state 指的是Florida）
×3. Some streets in Miami were underwater. However, the city's airport didn’t close. 正确表达：Some streets in Miami were underwater. The city's airport closed because of water damage.
√4. The Atlantic coast city of Jacksonville saw a record storm surge, the rise in sea levels blown ashore.
×5. Irma killed 10 people in Cuba and more than 36 total throughout the Caribbean. 正确表达：Irma killed 10 people there and at least 36 total throughout the Caribbean.