NPR新闻：热带风暴“希拉里”袭击南加州
刘立军 供稿
TRANSCRIPT
What's left of Hurricane Hilary has been bringing heavy rain to parts of southern California that have rarely, if ever, experienced a tropical storm.
Some roads are underwater. And the nation's second largest school district won't open today. And millions are being told just stay home.
Erin Stone with LAist has been riding out the storm in Palm Springs. Erin, lots of concerns about high winds, heavy rain in the mountains maybe causing some floods either in coastal cities or desert communities. How bad has it been?
Yeah, there was significant flooding across the region. But as expected, mountain and desert communities, especially the San Bernardino Mountains and the Coachella Valley here where I'm at, saw the heaviest impacts and most flash flooding. Here in the desert, the soils are so dry that they can't absorb this much water at once. And many streets are actually part of the flood control system here, so they are expected to flood during heavy rains. But there hasn't been as widespread an impact to life as officials originally worried. It seems like the public largely heard the message to prepare ahead of time and stay home, which helped a lot. So that old adage better safe than sorry seems to have been the wisdom of the weekend.
Yeah, I went nowhere on Sunday. Normally, I'd be out, but I didn't. Now, a lot of rain all over Southern California. What can you tell us about where this storm has maybe packed the biggest punch?
Yeah, so this is the first tropical storm to actually land in Southern California in several decades. So it's fair to say most residents across the region have no living memory of what it is to experience something like this. The storms have broken daily rainfall records across Southern California, so from downtown LA to Palm Springs. Here in Palm Springs, for example, we saw more than half a year's worth of rain in just one day. And as you know, schools in the region have also decided not to start class today. Roads have turned to rivers, and there have been dangerous muddy debris flows and burn scars and waterways. Emergency responders have had to rescue and evacuate dozens of people, including a mobile home park here in the Coachella Valley and a homeless encampment along the San Diego River. And the city of Palm Springs even had its 911 call line go down, though people can still text. But, you know, the worst of the storm was largely within what governments and emergency responders have expected and prepared for. And there really haven't been widespread threats to life.
VOCABULARY
1. adage n. a well-known phrase expressing a general truth about people or the world 谚语；格言
2. debris n. pieces of wood, metal, brick, etc. that are left after sth. has been destroyed 残骸；碎片；破片
QUESTIONS
Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.
1. What areas were most affected by the tropical storm?
A) Coastal cities.
B) Desert communities.
C) Urban areas.
D) Suburban neighborhoods.
2. Why did the streets in the desert communities flood during heavy rains?
A) Due to lack of proper drainage systems.
B) Because the soil can't absorb so much water at once.
C) Due to poor city planning.
D) Because of the high altitude.
3. How did the public respond to the warnings about the incoming storm?
A) They ignored the warnings.
B) They prepared ahead of time and stayed home.
C) They evacuated their homes.
D) They continued with their normal activities.
4. What was the main impact of the storm on the educational system in Southern California?
A) Schools were destroyed.
B) Classes were not started.
C) Students were moved to safer schools.
D) Online learning was enforced.
5. How often does a tropical storm like this hit Southern California?
A) Every year.
B) Every decade.
C) Rarely, if ever.
D) Not mentioned.
KEY
1. What areas were most affected by the tropical storm?
A) Coastal cities.
B) Desert communities.
C) Urban areas.
D) Suburban neighborhoods.
【答案】B
【解析】细节题。命题依据来自于Erin Stone的描述，“mountain and desert communities… saw the heaviest impacts and most flash flooding”。根据这个出处，我们可以明确山区和沙漠社区受到的影响最大。
2. Why did the streets in the desert communities flood during heavy rains?
A) Due to lack of proper drainage systems.
B) Because the soil can't absorb so much water at once.
C) Due to poor city planning.
D) Because of the high altitude.
【答案】B
【解析】细节题。命题依据来源于Erin Stone的解释，“the soils are so dry that they can't absorb this much water at once”。中文解析是，由于干燥的土壤无法一次性吸收如此多的水分，所以暴雨引发了洪水。
3. How did the public respond to the warnings about the incoming storm?
A) They ignored the warnings.
B) They prepared ahead of time and stayed home.
C) They evacuated their homes.
D) They continued with their normal activities.
【答案】B
【解析】细节题。命题依据来源于Erin Stone的描述，"It seems like the public largely heard the message to prepare ahead of time and stay home". 根据这个信息，我们能知道公众大部分听到了关于即将来临的风暴的警告，并提前做好了准备并留在家里。
4. What was the main impact of the storm on the educational system in Southern California?
A) Schools were destroyed.
B) Classes were not started.
C) Students were moved to safer schools.
D) Online learning was enforced.
【答案】B
【解析】细节题。命题依据来源于新闻中的这段话："schools in the region have also decided not to start class today". 从这句话我们可以得出结论，风暴对南加州教育系统的主要影响是学校决定不开课。
5. How often does a tropical storm like this hit Southern California?
A) Every year.
B) Every decade.
C) Rarely, if ever.
D) Not mentioned.
【答案】C
【解析】推理题。命题依据来源于新闻中的这段话：“this is the first tropical storm to actually land in Southern California in several decades. So it's fair to say most residents across the region have no living memory of what it is to experience something like this.” 因此，可以推断出像这样的热带风暴罕见地袭击南加利福尼亚。
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