As the best candidate, I was appointed to collect and evaluate information for a database about diverse natural disasters, such as hurricanes, typhoons or thunderstorms. Sometimes I did this by giving out questionnaires to those who went through them. But sometimes I had to go through actual disasters myself. The Musaki Volcano was one of them.
At that time, I lived in a bungalow alongside the volcano with a novelist, who came for the appreciation of its eruption. One day, when I was drawing diagrams on the balcony and he was bathing inside, the volcano erupted unexpectedly. The ash and lava fountains shooting highly in the sky varied from 50 to 100 meters in height. It was absolutely fantastic! I even noticed a rainbow appear in the fog caused by a heat wave.
But, glancing through our surroundings, I foresaw the potential danger and found no guarantee of our safety. The uncomfortable gas almost made us unconscious. Sweats of anxiety began to drop. Managing to stop panicking and trembling, we quickly put on our protective suits, helmets and boots and eventually made our way to a safe place. How lucky we were even though my precious equipment and documents were all burnt to the ground!
作为最好的候选人，我被委派为一个数据库收集和评估各种自然灾害的信息，例如飓风、台风或雷暴等。有时我通过向经历过这些灾害的人分发调查问卷来收集信息，有时却得亲自经历实际的灾害。Musaki火山就是其中之一。
那时，我和一名来欣赏火山爆发的小说家同住在火山边上的一座平房里。有一天，当我正在阳台上画图表而他在屋里洗澡时，火山突然爆发了，喷射到天空中的火山灰和岩浆喷泉从50米到100米不等，这一情景绝对地奇异，我甚至还注意到一条彩虹出现在热浪造成的雾里。
然而，我向四周看了一下，马上预见到了潜在的危险，也发现了我们的安全毫无保障。令人不舒服的气体几乎使我们失去知觉，忧虑的汗水开始流淌下来。我们努力使自己不要惊慌和颤抖，迅速穿上保护套装、头盔和靴子，最后成功前往安全的地方。尽管我珍贵的设备和文件都烧得精光，但是我们真的非常幸运。
重点词汇解析
1. candidate [5kændɪdeɪt] n. 候选人
There are only three candidates for the job.
这份工作只有三个人申请。
2. appoint [ə5pɒɪnt] v. 任命
It made sense to appoint a banker to this job.
任命一位银行家做这项工作是合理的。
3. evaluate [ɪ5væljʊeɪt] v. 评估；评价
Don’t evaluate people by their clothes.
不要根据衣着来评价人。
4. database [5deɪtəbeɪs] n. 数据库
The state maintains a database of names of people allowed to vote.
该州有一个可以投票的人的姓名数据库。
5. diverse [daɪ5vɜ:s] adj. 多种多样的
The building houses a wide and diverse variety of antiques.
这栋楼里摆放着大量各式各样的古董。
6. hurricane [5hʌrɪkən] n. 飓风
Many buildings were demolished by a hurricane.
许多房屋被飓风摧毁。
7. typhoon [taɪ5fu:n] n. 台风
The typhoon left chaos behind it.
台风后一片混乱。
8. thunderstorm [5θʌndəstɔ:m] n. 雷暴雨
The weather forecast says it’s going to be a thunderstorm tomorrow.
天气预报明天有暴风雨。
9. questionnaire [‚kwestʃə5neə] n. 问卷
Teachers will be asked to fill in a questionnaire.
教师们将被要求填写一份调查问卷。
10. actual [5æktʃuəl] adj. 实际的
I’m not joking. Those were his actual words.
我没开玩笑，那都是他的原话。
11. volcano [vɒl5keɪnəʊ] n. 火山
The volcano erupted last year killing about 600 people.
去年那座火山喷发导致大约六百人丧生。
12. bungalow [5bʌŋgələʊ] n. 平房
A bungalow is a small house with one or two bedrooms and usually one bathroom.
平房是小房子,有一个或两个卧室,通常有一个浴室。
13. alongside [əlɒŋ5saɪd] adv. 在旁边
He waited several minutes for a car to pull up alongside.
他等了几分钟等一辆车停靠在旁边。
14. novelist [5nɒvəlɪst] n. 小说家
The young man is so lucky that he is taken up by a famous novelist.
这个年轻人很走运，他得到了一位著名小说家的指教。
novel（小说）词尾加上ist（人物后缀）构成。
15. appreciation [əˌpri:ʃi5eɪʃə n] n. 欣赏；感激
The chairman asked me to express our appreciation of all your hard work.
主席要我对大家的努力表示感谢。
动词appreciate（欣赏；感激）
16. eruption [ɪ5rʌpʃən] n. 爆发
The last eruption of this volcano lasted over a year.
该火山上次爆发持续了一年。
动词erupt词尾加上tion构成名词。
17. diagram [5daɪəgræm] n. 图表
Compare this diagram with the one you used in the previous article.
将这个图表与前一篇文章中所使用的图表进行比较。
18. balcony [5bælkəni] n. 阳台
Has your flat got a balcony? 你的公寓有阳台吗？
19. bath [bɑ:θ] v. 洗澡; n. 沐浴
Have a shower instead of a bath.
别泡澡了，洗淋浴吧。
20. erupt [ɪ5rʌpt] v. 爆发
Molten lava erupted from the top of the volcano.
熔岩从火山顶喷了出来。
21. ash [æʃ] n. 灰
The house burnt to ashes. 那房子烧成了灰烬。
22. fountain [5faʊntən] n. 喷泉
The fountain wells its cold water.
喷泉涌出清凉的泉水。
23. shoot [ʃu:t] v.&n.射击
The police had orders to shoot anyone who attacked them.
警察得到命令可以向任何袭击他们的人开枪。
24. vary from...to...：从....到.....不同
Many of these factors vary from city to city and region to region.
许多要素因城市和地区的差异而有所不同。
25. absolutely [5æbsəlu:tlɪ] adv. 绝对地
I absolutely refuse to get married.
我绝对拒绝结婚。
形容词absolute（绝对的）加上ly构成副词
26. rainbow [5reɪnbəʊ] n. 彩虹
If you are lucky, you can see a vivid rainbow across over two peaks.
如果你幸运的话， 你可以看到跨越两座山峰的鲜艳的彩虹。
29. fog [fɒg] n. 雾
The crash happened in thick fog.
这次撞车发生在浓雾中。
30. wave [weɪv] n. 波浪; v. 挥动
You can hear the sound of the waves breaking on the shore.
你能听到波浪拍打海岸的声响。
31. potential [pə5tenʃəl] adj. 潜在的
The company has identified 60 potential customers.
该公司已确定了60位潜在的客户。
32. guarantee [‚ɡærən5ti:] n.&v.保证
A famous old name on a firm is not necessarily a guarantee of quality.
公司的老字号并不一定能保证质量。
33. uncomfortable [ʌn5kʌmftəbl] adj. 不舒服的
Wigs are hot and uncomfortable to wear constantly.
假发常戴让人感到又热又不舒服。
形容词comfortable（舒服的）开头加上un构成。
34. unconscious [ʌn5kɒnʃəs] adj. 无意识的
By the time the ambulance arrived he was unconscious.
救护车赶到时他已神志不清。
形容词conscious（神志清醒的）开头加上un。
35. sweat [swet] n. 汗水; v. 流汗
Sweat poured down his face. 他满头大汗。
36. anxiety [æŋ5zaɪətɪ] n. 焦虑
Her voice was full of anxiety.
她的声音饱含焦虑。
37. panic [5pænɪk] n. 恐慌
The whole nation is in a state of panic following the attacks.
袭击过后整个国家一片恐慌。
38. tremble [5trembl] v.&n. 颤抖
The children trembled with fright.
孩子们被吓得发抖。
39. suit [sju:t] n. 套装; v. 合适
Red suits you very well. 红色衣服适于你穿。
40. helmet [5helmɪt] n. 头盔
All visitors to the site must wear safety helmet.
到工地的所有参观者必须带上安全帽。
41. boot [bu:t] n. 靴子
He reached down and pulled off his boots.
他弯腰脱掉了靴子。
42. make one’s way to前进
The team slowly made their way back to base.
球队慢慢地返回基地。
43. precious [5preʃəs] adj. 宝贵的
We cannot afford to waste precious time.
我们浪费不起宝贵的时间。
44. equipment [ɪ5kwɪpmənt] n. 设备
Make sure all equipment is properly labelled.
务必正确标示所有设备。
动词equip（装备）加上ment（名词后缀）构成。
45. document [5dɒkjʊmənt] n. 文件
When you are finished typing, remember to save your document.
输入完毕后，要记着保存文档。
46. burn to the ground全部焚毁
The Air Force was looking for a better way to burn Japanese cities to the ground.
空军正煞费苦心地寻找一种效率更高的办法以彻底烧毁日本的城市。
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