VOA常速英语:Rescuers Search for Missing People After Deadly California Mudslides

Rescue workers waded through thick mud on Wednesday to reach stranded residents, and taken them to safety.Some people had to be pulled out of their homes by helicopters.Local roads were made impassable by mudslides and debris from about 100 of destroyed homes.Last month’s historic wildfires burned trees on the hillsides above Montecito, and so there was not much to hold the mud.The massive slide scattered with them boulders that crashed into homes and vehicles below.In some cases the mud ran right through someone’s home in others it almost covered it all.
周三，救援人员趟过厚厚的淤泥到达滞留居民的地点，并将他们带到了安全的地方。有些人不得不乘直升机离开那里。上百座被摧毁房屋的碎片和泥石流堵塞了当地道路致使无法通行。上个月蒙特西托山发生了史上最严重的火灾，山坡上的树被烧光，所以没有植被固定土壤。大量的降水散落在岩石上，岩石混着雨水就冲向了山下的房屋和汽车。有的是泥浆直接穿过了别人家，其他的是整个房子被埋在洪流之下。

“The only word that I can really think of to describe what look like, was look like a world war battle field.”Local officials have ordered thousands of residents to evacuate the area, but only between 10 and 15 percent heeded the order.Many of them had been evacuated during last month’s wildfires and were not ready to pack out again so soon.
我能想到用来形容的唯一字眼，就像是一场世界大战的战场。当地官员已下令数千名居民撤离该地区，但只有百分之十到十五的居民听从了该命令。在上个月的森林大火中，许多人已经被疏散，而且他们还没有准备好这么快就再次撤离。

“Last night I was told we should evacuate, I said I’m tired of hearing the word.I’m not gonna evacuate, we thought it would be just rain.Okay, we’ve had rain before but nothing like this.”Some people will hit both by the fire and by the mudslides.“First we got burned out at our ranch that caught on fire, and now we’re flooding.So it’s been you know, the last month has been pretty bad.This has happened before, but I think it’s the worst because there was the fire.Because of the burnt, there’s more debris than normal.”
昨晚有人通知我们撤离，我说我已经听厌了这个词。我不会撤走的，我们以为只是下雨。好吧，我们这里之前也下雨，但从没发生过这样的事情。有些人遭受了火灾和泥石流的双重打击。首先我们的牧场被大火烧光了，现在又遭遇洪水。所以，你知道的，上个月实在是糟糕透了。泥石流之前也发生过，但因为火灾的缘故这次最严重。因为火灾，废墟比平时更多。

The Santa Barbara County, sandwiched between the verdant mountains and the Pacific coast, has long attracted affluent families and celebrities,like Oprah Winfrey whose estate also suffered some damage in mudslides.
圣芭芭拉县背靠青翠的群山面朝太平洋海岸，长久以来吸引了很多富裕的家庭和名人，比如奥普拉·温弗瑞，她的产业在泥石流中也受到了一些损失。

“There used to be a fence right here, that’s my neighbour’s house. Devastated.”Some 300 people were trapped in their homes early Wednesday with more than 20 reported missing.The authorities declared an area of about 8000 hectares a public safety exclusion zone, allowing only emergency crews to come in.Many homes were cut off from electricity and water.
这里之前有个篱笆，那是我邻居的房子。被毁掉了。周三一早，约300人被困在家中，有20多人失踪。当局宣布成立了一个面积约8000公顷的公共安全隔离区，并且只允许紧急救援人员进出。许多房屋被切断了水电供应。

Zlatica Hoke VOA News Washington.
VOA记者霍克，华盛顿报道。