墨尔本PTE素材库——Bushfire Season

 墨尔本PTE素材库——Bushfire Season

中文批注

这篇素材的是关于维州Toongabbie这个小镇，在2006年12月份所经历的一场bushfire，以及关于Macindoe这个家庭，是如何与bushfire作斗争的。他们首先在房顶上安装了洒水装置，并且移除了室外的所有家具。家中的两位儿子，以为13岁，一位9岁，也投入到了这场斗争中。视频中，还有一户人家，Savige，也参与了这场与bushfire的斗争。

澳大利亚语言学院的PTE素材库，旨在帮大家整理PTE考试中，无论是听力，还是阅读，甚至是口语，都有可能会涉及到的素材。让大家在考前，就能充分练习。这些素材，除了能让大家练习听英语、阅读文章的能力之外，还能够让大家针对不同PTE的题型，进行练习。大家可以试着summarize一下这篇文章的主旨，看看能否不遗漏重要信息？

【Key Vocabulary】

Surround v. 环绕

Horrific adj. 可怕的

Engulf v. 吞没

Paddock n. 围场，小牧场

Strike v. &n. 打击、敲击，冲击，袭击

Evacuate v. 疏散

Sprinkler n. 洒水器

Patrol v. 巡逻

Sandpit n. 沙坑

Trampoline n. 蹦床

Orchard n. 果园，果树林

Full Transcript

Bushfire Season

“There’s fires all around and we’re totally surrounded by black and it’s just horrific, absolutely horrific.”
In December 2006, the small town of Toongabbie was threatened by bushfire.
One man died and many houses were lost.
When we got here the whole house was engulfed in flames and the paddock was on fire and we went and started putting it out.
Toongabbie is in Gippsland in Victoria and it was one of many towns that were hit as fires burned across the state that summer.
Each year, there are hundreds of bushfires across the country. They can be very dangerous.
Bushfires can be scary stuff, and it’s important for families to have a plan about what to do when a fire strikes. Now there’s two basic options: you can evacuate early or stay and fight the fire.
And that really means defending your home because it would be impossible to stop a whole fire.
The main thing is to be prepared, and stick to your plan.
In 2006, the Macindoe family chose to stay and take on the fire.
They had been to information meetings, and had worked out a fire safety plan.
They installed sprinklers on the roof, removed all outside furniture, and bought some very fashionable clothing.
Once the fire-front hit, Connor, who was 13 at the time, and Devon, who was 9, patrolled the house.
Connor Macindoe: Well firstly we went and got some wet cloths and we went and stuck them under the gap in the door to stop the embers from getting in.
Devon Macindoe: Outside it was really dark and all you could see if you opened the blinds, was some black sticks and just orange everywhere.
Eventually the fire passed over their house and the Macindoes no longer recognised their own front yard.
Connor Macindoe: The fort, and the sandpit and the trampoline was all melted
Devon Macindoe: We found this after the fire, it was in the orchard on the fruit tree, because it was to scare away the birds and it’s all singed.
The Macindoes fire plan went smoothly and their house was saved but five minutes down the road, the Savige family had a much closer call.
Like the MacIndoes, Laura and Courtney had spent much of their summer collecting dead leaves and branches off the ground.
The fire came from, it actually came from behind, and came up towards us like that, and it was the first to hit this. So if we could get rid of any of that sort of dry matter, that would stop it burning any further.
The girls were at home alone when they first saw the smoke. They called their parents and began their fire plan.
Courtney: Laura and I just swung into action, we filled the bath up.
Laura: so there was baths, buckets water toughs, anything we could find.
Courtney: It was the worst feeling, like butterflies only fifty times worse.
When the fire hit, the girls and their parents took refuge.
Laura: It was terrifying, just listening as well hearing what was happening, the explosions.
But despite the nerves and some scary moments, their home survived.
Since then, the hills around Toongabbie have regrown, and the threat of bushfires is again on everyone’s minds.
But both the Macindoe and the Savige families say they’re not concerned.
They were OK in 2006 because they were prepared, and worked as a team.
And this year both families are getting organised again.
Laura Savige: Young people are just as good as the older people, it even rattled the older people, my dad was pretty scared, wasn’t he but if you’re determined and know what to do – the job at hand and you’re well prepared, and your parents inform the kids of what to do, you can do it!

(Source：http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s2430026.htm)