媒体英语
Australia’s ‘catastrophic’ fires continue 澳大利亚 “灾难级” 林火仍在燃烧
（注：原文发表于 2019 年 11 月 20 日）
高温和大风正在扩大澳大利亚林火危机所威胁到的地区，澳大利亚的三个州已发出警告，预计将迎来今年林火季最糟糕的状况。
Summer is still officially two weeks away, yet Australia has rarely - if ever - seen fires of such intensity. A ‘code red’ warning has been issued in the state of Victoria for the first time in almost a decade.
距离夏季正式到来还有两周时间，然而澳大利亚几乎从未遇到强度如此猛烈的火灾。维多利亚州近十年来首次发布 “红色预警”。
In neighbouring South Australia, communities on the Yorke Peninsula, west of Adelaide, have witnessed voracious walls of flame. In New South Wales, six people have died in the fires in recent weeks and more than 600 homes have been destroyed.
在邻近的南澳大利亚州，阿德莱德以西的约克半岛上，当地社区烧起了弥天大火。在新南威尔士州，最近几周已有六人死于火灾，600 多座房屋被烧毁。
Sydney has again been choked by a toxic smoky haze from nearby blazes. As the flames rage so does the debate about the impact of climate change.
悉尼再次被附近大火带来的有毒烟雾所笼罩。随着大火的肆虐，人们就气候变化所造成的影响也展开了激烈的辩论。
The government here insists there is no direct evidence linking warmer, drier conditions to this Australian crisis. However, scientists and the nation's official weather bureau say the proof is there for all to see.
澳大利亚政府坚称，没有直接证据表明气候变暖、干燥的天气条件与这次澳洲林火危机有关。但科学家与澳大利亚的国家官方气象局表示，证据是显而易见的。
词汇
intensity 强度，猛烈程度
code red 红色预警
voracious （火势）凶猛的
choked 被浓烟笼罩的，被烟雾充斥的
toxic 有毒的
rage （火势或争论）肆虐
climate change 气候变化
proof 证据
阅读理解：请在读完上文后，回答下列问题。
1. How often has Australia seen such intense fires?
2. What is ‘choking’ Sydney and making it difficult for people there to breathe?
3. True or false? There are strong feelings and anger in the discussions about the impact of climate change.
4. Why does the Australian government think that the fires are not caused by climate change?
答案
1. How often has Australia seen such intense fires?
Hardly ever (rarely), or possibly never (if ever).
2. What is ‘choking’ Sydney and making it difficult for people there to breathe?
Sydney has again been choked by a toxic smoky haze from nearby blazes.
3. True or false? There are strong feelings and anger in the discussions about the impact of climate change.
True. As the flames rage so does the debate about the impact of climate change. (Rage can describe a strong feeling of anger.)
4. Why does the Australian government think that the fires are not caused by climate change?
The government insists there is no direct evidence linking warmer, drier conditions to this Australian crisis.
