News Item 7 Death Toll Rises in Iran Train Explosion
Kerry Sheridan Cairo
Vocabulary：
1.devastation n. ruin； make desolate 毀壞；使荒蕪
2.emergency n. serious happening or situation need prompt action 緊急事件；緊急情況
3.sear vt. burn or scotch the surface of, especially with a heated iron 燒烤；炙烤
4.seismologist n. the expert who studies the strength, duration and distance away of earth 地震專家
5.condolence n. express of sympathy 慰問；安慰
6.sulfur n. light-yellow non-metallic element that burns with a bright flame and a strong smell 硫磺
Step One Try to answer the following questions in your own words as clearly as possible.
1.How many people were injured and how many people were dead in the train explosion?
2.Is the scale of the devastation is larger or smaller than initially thought?
3.Can you explain the reason why the nearby villages of the explosion site were flattened?
4.Can you describe the damages caused by the powerful explosion in detail?
5.Which country has offered its condolences to the victims of the disaster, and has pledged to assist the survivors?
Step Two Complete the following blanks with the exact words of the news.
1.Iranian officials say the death____ in Wednesday’s train explosion has climbed to 295.Some 450 people were injured in the ____ that occurred after a runaway ____train, carrying industrial chemicals, ____ and caught fire.
2.Iran has declared Thursday a national day of____，as____ near Neyshapur in a ____ region of northeastern Iran prepared to bury their dead. An ____ official said the scale of the ____ is greater than initially thought.
3.Rescue workers have pulled hundreds of bodies from the train ____and nearby villages that were ____in the force of Wednesday’s explosion. The____explosion caused dozens of nearby houses to____, crushing the residents inside.
4.The searing flames burned many bodies____recognition. Rescue teams were reported to be finding body parts hundreds of meters away from the site of the explosion. The blast____ after about 50 freight train cars, some carrying ____ oil, ____ and____, rolled out of a station and____.
5.Iranian ____recorded a 3. 6 level____at the time of the blast. Most of the dead are villagers，including the local governor and fire chief. Many firefighters who responded to the initial____ were also killed in the explosion. The United Nations has offered its ____ to the victims of the disaster, and has ____ to assist the survivors.
Notes ：
1.伊朗伊斯蘭共和國位於亞洲西部，北接阿塞拜疆、亞美尼亞、土庫曼斯坦，瀕臨裏海， 西與土耳其、伊拉克接壤，東臨阿富汗和巴基斯坦，南隔波斯灣、阿曼灣與阿拉伯半島諸國相望。麵積164萬平方公裏。伊朗是個古國。我國古代史書上稱其為“安息”國。公元前6世紀稱波斯，是個大帝國。7世紀後，異族先後入侵。18世紀前期，納第爾汗領導伊朗人民推翻了異族統治。1925年，建立起巴列維王朝。1979年成立了伊朗伊斯蘭共和國。1971年8月16日同我國建交。居民波斯人約占66％，還有阿塞拜疆人、庫爾德人、俾路支人、巴赫蒂亞爾人、盧爾人、阿拉伯人、加什蓋伊人、土庫曼人、亞美尼亞人、亞述人等。信伊斯蘭教，什葉派占大多數。波斯語為官方語言。 伊朗是一個高原和山地相間的國家。東部地區是幹燥的盆地，形成許多沙漠，沙漠和
荒地占全國麵積的1/3，西部山地區受地中海式氣候影響，年平均降水量達500毫米以上，東部沙漠地區減少到100毫米左右，沿裏海一帶年平均降水量達1000毫米以 上，炎熱潮濕，生長亞熱帶植物。
2. Iran has declared Thursday a national day of mourning, as residents near Neyshapur in a farming region of northeastern Iran prepared to bury their dead.
譯文：當伊朗東北部內什莆附近農場的居民正在準備埋葬死者時，伊朗政府已經宣布星期三為全國性的悼念日。