第一课1．But, like thousands of others in the coastal communities, john was reluctant to abandon his home unless the family -- his wife, Janis, and their seven children, aged 3 to 11 -- was clearly endangered. 但约翰就像沿海村落中其他成千上万的人一样，不愿舍弃家园， 要他下决心弃家外逃，除非等到他的一家人 ------妻子詹妮丝以及他们那七个年龄从三岁到十一岁的孩子一一眼看着就要灾祸临头。2. The French doors in an upstairs room blew in with an explosive sound, and the group heard gun- like reports as other upstairs windows disintegrated. 楼上一个房问的法兰西式两用门砰地一声被风吹开了。楼下的人还听到楼上其他玻璃窗破碎时发出的劈劈啪啪的响声。3. Frightened, breathless and wet, the group settled on the stairs, which were protected by two interior walls. 于是大家都跑到靠两堵内墙保护的楼梯上歇着。个个吓得要命， 气喘吁吁， 浑身湿透。4. Everyone knew there was no escape; they would live or die in the house. 谁都明白现在已是无路可逃．死活都只好留在崖子里了。5. A moment later, the hurricane, in one mighty swipe, lifted the entire roof off the house and skimmed it 40 feet through the air. 不一会儿， ?阵强风掠过，将整个屋顶卷入空中，抛向40 英尺以外。6. In its concentrated breadth of some 70 miles it shot out winds of nearly 200 m.p.h. and raised tides as high as 30 feet. 在飓风中心纵横约70 英里的范围内，其风速接近每小时200 英里，掀起的浪头高达 30 英尺。7. Strips of clothing festooned the standing trees, and blown down power lines coiled like black spaghetti over the roads. 尚未被风刮倒的树上结彩似地挂满被撕成布条的衣服，吹断的电线像黑色的实心面一样盘成一圈一圈地散在路面上。8. It could have been depressing, but it wasn’t: each salvaged item represented a little victory over the wrath of the storm. 这事原本是让人感到痛苦压抑的，但实际上确并非如此。 在残骸中找到的每一件侥幸保存下来的物品都显...
