您现在的位置: Language Tips> Columnist> Raymond Zhou  
   
 





 
Feeling the earth tremble
By that time, I could clearly feel the swaying of the building. It was gentle and rhythmic.
[ 2008-05-19 11:31 ]

By Raymond Zhou

Feeling the earth tremble

YINCHUAN, Ningxia: I was placing my recorder on the desk of deputy mayor Li Weidong when I heard the woman behind me murmuring "I feel dizzy". Another one joined her: "Me too." Then they both said: "It's an earthquake!"

By that time, I could clearly feel the swaying of the building. It was gentle and rhythmic. I said "gentle" because half an hour earlier, when the plane I took was touching down at Yinchuan Airport, it hit turbulence, which sent my head spinning and I had not totally recovered from it.

As one who went through the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, I quickly gauged that the tremor, as felt in Yinchuan, should register at about 5 on the Richter scale. It turned out to be a quake rolled to Yinchuan some 900 km away from the epicenter in Sichuan province.

The man accompanying me said: "Everyone stay calm! This building can withstand an 8-magnitude tremor. Don't worry!"

The 16-story city hall of Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, was newly built. I was on the 15th floor, waiting to interview the deputy mayor.

The swaying lasted a good 30 seconds before my host got anxious. "Let's take off," he said.

When we reached the stairs, I still felt a bit of motion sickness, but could not tell whether it was getting better or worse as there was a column of staff descending the stairs and the pace was hurried but orderly.

Cell phone signals were not available for some 10 minutes, and then everyone started making calls.

(China Daily 05/13/2008 page2)

我要看更多专栏文章

 
英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
相关文章 Related Story
 
 
 
本频道最新推荐
 
Walking in the US first lady's shoes
“准确无误”如何表达
英国新晋超女苏珊大妈改头换面
猪流感 swine flu
你有lottery mentality吗
翻吧推荐
 
论坛热贴
 
别乱扔垃圾。怎么译这个乱字呀?
橘子,橙子用英文怎么区分?
看Gossip Girl学英语
端午节怎么翻译?
母亲,您在天堂还好吗?