Unit 1 Face to Face with Hurricane Camille(2)

He dragged her out to the door and shoved her into the street.

The car won't start. Can you give it a shove?

douse

--- to stop a fire from burning by pouring water over it; to put out a light

That doused my outrage. 那件事平息了我的暴怒。

Douse your cigarette. There’s gas in the room!

He doused the flames with a fire extinguisher.

The car was doused in petrol and set alight.这辆车被浇上汽油点燃了。

-- immerse, soak, submerge, drench

He doused the clothes in soapy water.

on the verge of

--- very near to the action

She was so unhappy that she was on the verge of (committing) suicide.

The country is on the verge of disaster.

The child is on the verge of tears.

The company is on the verge of insolvency. （insolvent--- adj. not having enough money to pay what you owe (无力偿还债务的； [opp.] solvent )

The attack brought the country to the verge of war.

The old man had been driven to the verge of despair.

crushing

--- devastating / defeating /people feel upset or shocked

The final lecture was interrupted by the crushing news of president Kennedy's death.

It was a crushing result for the Labor Party.

ferocity

--- the quality of being violent / strength/ intensity 凶猛程度 u

Violence broke out in greater amount and ferocity.

He had never heard such ferocity in a man's voice.

maroon

--- v. (uau. p.p.)

to leave one or more people alone, with no means of getting away.

If one is marooned, he is left in a place, which is difficult or impossible to escape from.

Five fishermen were marooned on a rock in a gale.

grade

-- classify by grades

Apples are graded according to size and quality.

Poultrymen grade their eggs from small to extra large.

mph -- mile per hour

rpm -- revolutions per minute

gpm -- gallons per minute

fps -- feet per second

spectacular

-- very impressive, dramatic, breathtaking

壮观的，引人注目的，激动人心

The man gave a spectacular display of horse riding.

He made a spectacular jump from the burning building.

Some films present spectacular scenes like battles, processions, storms, races etc,

vantage point(s)

point of vantage -- a good position from which you can see a lot of things

The TV tower will provide a vantage point from which we can have a bird's eye view of the city. They fired upon the enemy from behind trees, walls and any other point of vantage they could find.

para 19 ~ 20

Two paras were put in to provide further official account to show how strong and forceful the hurricane was. They were convincing.

Dear Lord, give me....

Why no quotation marks?

The writer wants to make his account smooth. He purposely omits quotation marks. The action is quickened and smooth.

frustrate

-- cause sb to have feelings of annoys and disappointment

If sth frustrates you, it makes you feel upset and angry because you are unable to deal with the difficulties and problems it gives you.

frustrate

-Giving a child problems he can't solve will only frustrate him.

-He was frustrated by his poverty.

-The lack of money and facilities depressed and frustrated him.

-There must be nothing more frustrating than having a job you don't like .

frustration u.

- Without public support our efforts will end in frustration.

a lean-to

1 a building joined to one of the sides of a larger building with which it shares one wall:

a cottage with a lean-to garage

2 US a shelter or simple building with a roof that slopes in one direction, which is slept in when camping

Here ―a lean-to‖ is a support

thrust

-- onslaught,

attack,

push,

drive

strew

-- spread, cover, scatter

- His clothes were strewn all over the room.

- The floor is strewn with broken glass.

- After the riot, the street was strewn with broken bottles and stones.

festoon

-- decorate

The garden was festooned with colored lights.

National Guard

Each state has its own organization of the National Guard. It is composed of ordinary citizens who may be called to duty at any time. 国民警卫队

Civil Defense Unit -- 民防队

play much the same role, but are not military in nature

The Salvation Army

A world-wide Christian organization founded by William Booth in White Chapel, London in 1865. The Salvation Army is concerned with spreading the Christian message and with social reform. Its officers have military titles and members wear uniforms.

Red Cross

An international organization concerned with the alleviation of human suffering and the promotion of public health. A red cross on a white background is the symbol.

rake its way

-- meta.

If raking a surface, you move a rake across it in order to make it smooth and level

-- to attack and devastate as it swept along

rampage –

If people or animal rampage, they rush about in a wild or violent way, often causing damages or destruction.

The elephants are rampaging through the bush. ( hard to control/ mad/ violent / raging)

Seabees

-- C.B. members of the construction Battalions of the Civil Engineer corps of the US navy, that build harbor facilities airfields etc 海军工程队

wreckage

-- you refer to what remains of a plane, car, building etc, that has been very badly damaged as wreckage

assume/ presume

The meaning of these words are quite close

assume -- to come to a conclusion on the basis of what is known or felt to be true< …… 此处隐藏：5029字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……