这里是德州基林胡德堡…你看到的每一盏灯都是人们在车里取暖和给设备充电…这条街容纳了大约300户家庭——停电21小时。接下来一系列灾难袭来,停水、停电、停天然气、食物链断裂、救援措施受阻,拜登宣布德州进入重大灾难状态。President Biden said on Friday that he planned to declare a major disaster in Texas which would allow for additional federal aid to be routed to residents struggling to access basic necessities after a deadly winter storm.
看到这里,英大不免想起2004年的经典灾难片《后天》(The Day After Tomorrow)。故事中,两极冰川融化淹没了整个地球,自由女神被洪水冲垮的画面成为了影视的经典。
The weather has also created extremely dangerous conditions on the roads and brought traffic jams to some areas.这种天气也给道路造成了极其危险的状况,并给一些地区带来了交通堵塞。
traffic jams 交通堵塞;交通拥堵
Around 13 million people - which is nearly half of the state's population - have faced problems with getting clean water too, because hundreds of systems have been damaged by the freezing temperatures.
给那些没有暖气的人的小妙招。找一个帐篷,把它放在床上。盖上1或2条毯子保温。当房间里的温度降到40度时,这能让我们一家人保持温暖,帐篷里的温度是80度。我们用了一个从沃尔玛买来的20美元的帐篷,这个帐篷从去年起就一直放在我的车库里。如果你家里停电但有一个帐篷,我建议你也这样做。没有帐篷的话可以买一个,因为谁知道啥时候停电呢。孩子们玩得很开心,温暖舒适地睡着了。希望大家平安。看着这脑洞大开的一幕幕,是不是感觉既搞笑又心酸?不过至少他们成功解决了问题,但另一些人就没那么幸运了。In Houston, a woman and child accidentally suffocatedthemselves with carbon monoxide trying to stay warm in their car. 在休斯顿,一名妇女和一名儿童在车内取暖时意外被一氧化碳窒息而死。
suffocate /'sʌfəkeɪt/ v. (使某人)窒息而死,呼吸困难, 窒息
carbon monoxide 一氧化碳
在德州暴风雪中,两名市民因使用汽车取暖导致一氧化碳中毒死亡。
Two people in Austin died in a fire that likely resulted from an attempt to stay warm. 奥斯丁有两人在火灾中丧生,这场火灾可能是由于试图保暖引起的。Here in San Antonio, a man in his 70s was found dead, apparently from exposure. 在圣安东尼奥,一名70多岁的男子被发现死亡,显然是由于暴露在室外。Many Texans were without power, water, or both for days, left to choose between the risk of contracting COVID-19 at a shelter and the danger of freezing in their home.许多德州人连续几天没有电、没有水,或者两者都没有,他们不得不在避难所感染新冠的风险和家中被冻住的风险之间做出选择。那么问题来了,德州人民的生活已经如此艰难,政府在干什么?
“Like millions of Texans, our family lost heat and power, too,” Cruz said. Because his daughters’ school was canceled due to the weather, Cruz and his wife, Heidi, decided to allow them to take “a trip with friends.” 克鲁兹说:“和数百万德州人一样,我们家也失去了热量和电力。”由于天气原因,他女儿的学校被取消了,克鲁兹和他的妻子海蒂决定允许自己“和朋友一起旅行”。“Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon,” he said. “我想成为一个好爸爸,所以我昨晚和他们一起去了,然后今天下午飞回来了。”他说。虽然事后他还在不停为自己狡辩,但大家根本不买账,甚至要求罢免克鲁兹。罢免克鲁兹。大家对克鲁兹的怒火还未消减,又有最新消息称,抛弃市民“开溜”的可不止他一人。Cruz wasn’t the state’s only elected Republican to skip town for warmer temperatures, or at least reliable power. 克鲁兹并不是该州唯一一个因寒冷或停电而逃难的共和党人。Last week, the Houston Chronicle reported that state representative Gary Gates flew to Orlando on a private jet after his home lost power.
上周,《休斯顿纪事报》报道称,州众议员盖瑞·盖茨在家中停电后乘坐私人飞机前往奥兰多。
And on Monday, the Dallas Morning News reported that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, state senator Angela Paxton, traveled to Utah last week amid the failure of his state’s power grid.