Good evening. It would be beautiful if it weren’t so devastating. A powerful winter storm has coated the nation’s midsection with sheets of ice, some an inch thick, and in some areas it’s basically brought life to a standstill. The storm has caused at least 23 deaths.
There are states of emergency in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Nearly a million homes are without power and may remain so for some time. And the troubles may just be starting. ABC’s Steve Osunsami joins us tonight from Oklahoma City. Steve. Good evening, Charlie. It is raining here tonight, and it might as well be liquid misery falling from the sky.
With temperatures hovering around freezing, the danger here is that the ice now covering this region could get thicker. In city after city, the utility crews are out working around the clock trying desperately to repair power lines. But with so much ice, they simply can’t keep up. Across Oklahoma City where the ice just will not seem to go away, there are thousands of residents still in the dark.
-- Currently, we have about 294 thousand customers that are without power.
They’re also without heat, and in some places, there’s a new problem. No power means there’s no water either. Schools are closed everywhere, roads are deadly slick. In towns like Jefferson City, Missouri, there’s not enough manpower to clear the debris off the roads. In Littleton, Colorado, the ice caused a train to derail. Ten cars flew off the track.
In Chicago, at the airports, the delays and cancellations were brutal; at O’Hare alone, nearly 500 flights were a no-go. In Des Moins, Iowa, both politics and planes were grounded. The airport closed for several hours. In Oklahoma City, Phill Reed and Gale Hobson had to cut through fallen trees to get the car out of the driveway. They were determined to drive to her aunt’s house, an 83-year-old who’s been locked in her home with no power or heat since the storm began.
They found her safe and sound, but cold.
-- It’s just so awful to be in there with no light, no electricity, no heat, no anything.
She agreed to leave and stay with relatives who at least for tonight have a warm fire. Power officials describe this as a seven to ten-day event. That’s how long many residents will have to wait to get their lights turned back on. Charlie. Steve Osunsami reporting tonight, thanks. | |
devastate : ~ 을 유린하다 , 황폐시키다 , ( 사람을 ) 압도하다 , 망 연자실케 하다
* devastating : 파괴적인 , 황폐시키는 , 충격적인 , 끔찍한 , 지독한 ( very shocking or upsetting)
ex. a devastating fire/storm/flood
ex. It is always devastating to be diagnosed with a terminal illness.
* devastated : 1. completely destroyed, 2. very shocked and upset
ex. devastated villages / ex. She was utterly devastated when her husband died.
coat : (방한·외출용의) 코트, 웃옷으로 덮다[을 입 히다], <페인트 등을> 칠하다, <먼지 등이> 뒤덮다
ex. The wind had coated everything with a layer of sand.
midsection : 중간부
sheet : 시트, 요 위에 까는 천, (종이) 한 장, 넓게 퍼져 있는 것 [층, 피복]
ex. The lake was covered with a sheet of ice.
ex. a sheet of water[fire] 물[불]바다
standstill : 정지 , 휴지
ex. at a standstill 정지 상태에 있는
* come to a standstill 멎다, 멈추다 / * bring ~ to a standstill ~을 멈추게 하다(be brought to a standstill)
state of emergency : 비상사태
* emergency : 비상 [ 긴급 ] 사태 / ex. declare a state of emergency 비 상 사태를 선포하다
ex. emergency room : 응급실 (ER) / ex. emergency exit 비상구
may as well do... ( as ~) : (~ 하느니 ) ... 하는 편이 좋다 , …하 는 것도 나쁘지 않다 , (~ 하는 것은 ) ... 하는 것과 같다 [ 다름없다 ]
ex. We may as well throw our money into the sea as lend it to him. 그에 게 돈을 빌려 주느니 차라리 바다에 던져 버리겠다 .
ex. It might as well be a fish market. 도떼기시장 같다. / a fish market 어시장, 시끌버끌한 장소를 나타낼 때도 쓸 수 있슴.
* may well be~ : ( 아마도 분명 ) ~ 일 것이다
ex. What you say may (very) well be true. 너의 말은 아마도 분명 사실일 것이다 .
* may well + do : ~ 하는 것은 당연하다
ex. You may well think so. 그렇게 생각할 수도 있겠다(그렇게 생각하는 것도 당연하다).
misery : ( 정신적 ) 고통 , 괴로움 , 고통스럽 게 하는 것 / something that causes people to suffer or be unhappy
ex. He wasn't prepared for the physical miseries of prison.
hover : ( …의 위를 ) 날다 , ( …의 근처에 ) 떠 다니다 ex. Bees hovered over the daisies. 벌은 데이지꽃 위를 떠돌았 다 .
utility : 유용 , 유익 , 공익 사업 , 공익 설비 ( 전기 . 가스 . 상하수도 . 교통 등 ), 공익 사업체 (= public utility)
around the clock : all day and all night
ex. Rescuers worked around the clock to free people trapped in the wreckage.
* against the clock : 일정한 시간까지 일을 마칠 수 있도록 , 될 수 있는 대로 빨리
ex. The entire department is working against the clock to meet the deadline.
ex. An air force spokesman said the rescue operation was a race against time.
* the clock is ticking : used for saying that someone must do something quickly because there will soon be no more time left
desperate : 자포자기의 , 필사적인 , 절실한
ex. I was desperate for a glass of water. 물 한 잔이 절실했다 . 물 한 잔 마시고 싶어서 죽을 지경이었다 .
power line : 전력선 , 송전선
keep up (with~) : ( ~에) 뒤떨어지지 않다, ( ~ 와) (편지 등으로) 접촉을 유지하다
slick : 매끈매끈한, 미끄러운, 능숙한, 말재주 있는 / 1. A slick performance, production, or advertisement is skilful and impressive. ex. There's a big difference between an amateur video and a slick Hollywood production. 2. A slick action is done quickly and smoothly, and without any obvious effort. 3. A slick person speaks easily in a way that is likely to convince people, but is not sincere. ex. a slick car salesman
manpower : 동원 가능한 인원수, 인력
debris : 파편 , 잔해 , ( 파괴물의 ) 부스러기
derail : [ 보통 수동형 ] < 기차 등을 > 탈 선시키다 , < 계획 따위를 > 실패하게 하다
ex. Disagreements between the two parties have derailed peace talks.
brutal : 잔인한 , 냉혹한 , 난폭한 , < 날씨가 > 혹독 한, 굉장한
no-go : adj. impossible, not working well, or not allowed / n. A situation in which planned operations cannot be effectuated
ex. This place is a no-go area at night. 출입 금지 구역
ex. The mission is a no-go because of storms near the launch site.
ground : 비행기의 이륙을 금지시키다 , ~ 의 비행 근무를 해제하다 , 벌로 아이의 외출을 금지시키다 , 땅 , 근거 , 이 유
ex. All of their planes have been grounded. / ex. His parents grounded him for two weeks for smoking.
driveway : (도로에서 집·차고까지의) 진입로
determined : 결연 [ 단호 ] 한 (resolute), 굳게 결심한
* be determined to do something: ex. She was determined to make no mention of this. 이 일에 대해 아무 말도 않기로 굳게 결심했다 .
* be determined (that): She is determined that this year things will be different.
* a determined effort/attempt/attack
safe and sound : 안전히, 안전한, 무사히, 무 사한
ex. Everyone is safe and sound. (= with no damage or injury) 모두들 안전하 다[무사하다].
describe A as B : A 를 B 라고 말하다 ( 평하다 )
ex. The attacker is described as around 30, with dark hair and a beard.
ex. I would not describe her as a nice person. / ex. Was this the man she had once described as a hero? | |