每日精读 汤加火山灰阻碍邻国救援
以下文章来自微信公众号“英语跃进”
The tsunami threat around the Pacific from a huge undersea volcanic eruption began to recede Sunday, but the massive ash cloud covering the tiny island nation of Tonga prevented surveillance flights from New Zealand to assess the extent of damage.
周日，来自太平洋海底火山喷发的海啸威胁开始消退，但覆盖在小岛国家汤加上空的巨大火山灰阻碍了新西兰派遣侦察飞机进行破坏程度评估。
Satellite images showed the spectacular eruption that took place Saturday evening, with a plume of ash, steam and gas rising like a mushroom above the blue Pacific waters. A sonic boom could be heard as far away as Alaska.
卫星图像显示了周六晚上发生的火山喷发的壮观景象，火山灰、蒸汽和气体像蘑菇一样在蓝色的太平洋水域上空升起。远至阿拉斯加都能听到火山爆发的声音。
In Tonga it sent tsunami waves crashing across the shore and people rushing to higher ground.
在汤加，海啸冲击海岸，人们纷纷涌向高地。
The eruption cut the internet to Tonga, leaving friends and family members around the world anxiously trying to get in touch to figure out if there were any injuries. Even government websites and other official sources remained without updates on Sunday afternoon.
火山爆发切断了汤加的互联网，全世界各地的朋友和家人试图与当地的亲人取得联系，迫切想知道是否有人受伤。周日下午，就连政府网站和其他官方渠道也没有信息更新。
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there had not yet been any official reports of injuries or deaths in Tonga, but cautioned that authorities hadn’t yet made contact with some coastal areas and smaller islands.
新西兰总理杰辛达·阿德恩（Jacinda Arden）表示，汤加尚未有任何官方伤亡报告，她警告称当局尚未与一些沿海地区和较小岛屿取得联系。
“Communication with Tonga remains very limited. And I know that is causing a huge amount of anxiety for the Tongan community here,” Ardern said.
阿德恩说：“与汤加的联系仍然非常有限，我知道这种情形给我们这里的汤加社区带来了巨大的不安。”
She said there had been significant damage to boats and shops along the Tongan coastline. The capital, Nuku’alofa, was covered in a thick film of volcanic dust, Ardern said, contaminating water supplies and making fresh water a vital need.
她说，汤加海岸沿线的船只和商店遭到严重破坏，首都努库阿洛法被厚厚的火山灰覆盖，水源遭到污染，使淡水成为一种至关重要的需求。
Aid agencies said thick ash and smoke had prompted authorities to ask people to wear masks and drink bottled water.
救援机构表示，浓重的火山灰和烟雾促使当局要求人们戴口罩和饮用瓶装水。
Ardern said New Zealand was unable to send a surveillance flight over Tonga on Sunday because the ash cloud was 63,000 feet (19,000 meters) high but they hoped to try again on Monday, followed by supply planes and navy ships.
杰辛达·阿德恩表示，由于火山灰高达63000英尺（19000米），新西兰无法在周日派侦察机飞抵汤加，但他们希望在周一再试一次，同时会派出补给飞机和海军舰艇。
重点词汇 recede /rɪˈsiːd/ v.渐渐退去；（问题或疾病等）逐渐减弱
surveillance /sɜːˈveɪləns/ n. 监视，监察
surveil /səˈveɪl/ vt. 使受监视；对……实施监视
significant damage 严重破坏
contaminate /kənˈtæmɪneɪt/ v. 污染，弄脏；毒害，腐蚀（人的思想或品德）
