VOA慢速英語: 無法預(yù)知什么時候會發(fā)生地震（雙語）

No Way to Know When Earthquake Will Hit

無法預(yù)知什么時候會發(fā)生地震

Last Sunday, an earthquake struck the Napa Valley area of northern California. Some roads bent, while underground pipes burst. It was the strongest earthquake to strike the Napa Valley in 15 years. No one was killed, but many people were treated in hospitals.

上周日，一場地震襲擊了美國加州北部的納帕谷地區(qū)，造成一些道路彎曲，地下管道破裂，這是15年來納帕谷地區(qū)發(fā)生的最強(qiáng)大的地震。沒有人死亡，但是有很多人受傷，正在醫(yī)院接受治療。

Scientists say the earthquake last weekend was a magnitude 6 quake.

科學(xué)家說，上周的地震是6級地震。

“The magnitude of the earthquake reflects how much of the Earth’s crust ruptured. It’s really an expression of the total energy that’s released when apart of the Earth’s crust breaks apart.”

“地震的震級高低反映了地殼的破裂程度，這實際上是地殼破裂時所釋放出的總能量的一種表現(xiàn)方式”

David Applegate works for the United States Geological Survey. He says Californians are lucky because the earthquake did not cause major damage to water mains – large pipelines that carry water. He notes that a lot of the losses in quakes are from fires because water mains have been broken, and there is no quick way to fix them.

大衛(wèi)·艾伯蓋特在美國地質(zhì)調(diào)查局工作，他稱，加州人是幸運的，因為地震沒有對自來水總管道(傳輸水資源的大型管道)造成重大損害。他指出，地震中的很多損失來自火災(zāi)，因為自來水管道雖未受到重大損害，但是也已經(jīng)有損壞，不能很快修復(fù)，所以滅火困難。

Mr. Applegate says the timing of the quake in Napa may have saved a lot of lives.

艾伯蓋特稱，在納帕谷地區(qū)發(fā)生地震的時間，可能拯救了很多人的生命。

“It happened in the middle of the night. We saw a lot of cases where old brick buildings collapsed onto sidewalks. Those sidewalks were empty.”

“該地震發(fā)生在半夜，我們看到很多建筑倒塌在人行道上，而半夜時人行道是空的。”

He describes that as a stroke of good luck because earthquakes usually come as a surprise.

他稱，這次運氣很好(發(fā)生在半夜)，因為地震總是出人意料的突襲。

“Short-term prediction is not feasible, but what we do know is where large earthquakes occur.”

“短期預(yù)測是不可行的，但是我們知道哪里有大地震會發(fā)生。”

This means that scientists can predict the likelihood that an earthquake will hit a given area over the next several years. When a quake begins, however, scientists can warn those in its path.

這就意味著，在未來幾年，科學(xué)家將可以預(yù)測出可能發(fā)生地震的一定范圍內(nèi)的地區(qū)。當(dāng)?shù)卣鸢l(fā)生，科學(xué)家就可以給予警告。

“Once an earthquake starts in one place, we can actually get the characteristics of the event and get an alert out ahead of the strong shaking.”

“一旦一個地方開始發(fā)生地震，我們可以得知該事件發(fā)生的特點，并在強(qiáng)震前給予人們警告。”

David Applegate says the warning may not come long before the quake strikes. But he adds that 10 or 20 seconds may be enough to save your life.

大衛(wèi)·艾伯蓋特稱，警告可能不會早于地震發(fā)生前，但是他補(bǔ)充稱，10秒或20秒就足以挽救你的生命。

“Certainly you can get underneath a sturdy piece of furniture. Drop, cover and hold on.”

“當(dāng)然這就會使你有時間躲到一個堅固的家具下面，蹲下，尋找掩護(hù)和抓住固定位置”

Like anything, he says, it is wise to have a plan that includes fresh water and how to find loved ones after the disaster.

他稱，就像其他事情一樣，有一個關(guān)于淡水的儲備和災(zāi)難后如何尋找親人的計劃是非常明智的。

“Your quality of life after the event is really dependent on what you’ve done to plan before the event.”

“事件發(fā)生后你生活的質(zhì)量，是真的依賴于事件之前你所做的計劃的。”

The people of northern California were lucky in what could have been a far more damaging earthquake. But others have cause for celebration. It seems that Napa Valley will continue exporting wine as usual. That is also likely part of the survival plan.

這次地震是可能造成更重大的損害，而并沒有，所以說加州北部的人們是幸運的，但是其他人也有理由慶祝?？磥?，帕納谷將繼續(xù)像往常一樣出口葡萄酒，這可能也是生存計劃的一部分。

I’m Bob Doughty.

我是鮑勃·道格。