#EZTALK #EZNews
#TexasIceStorm #霸王級寒流英文怎麼說
夏熱冬暖的德州上週罕見出現零下溫度❄，究竟是什麼原因❓
德州人斷水斷電斷瓦斯，是天災還是人禍？
今晚吃元宵，一起跟著 Libby 關心 #你不知道的美國大小事
順便學英文（推眼鏡
看完本新聞再搭配下週的 #編輯講英文 podcast
學習效果更好喔😉
The state of Texas is known for its long, hot summers and mild winters. That’s why the 🔖freezing weather that hit Texas last week 🔖took everyone by surprise. Normally, the jet stream keeps 🔖swirling cold air—known as the “polar vortex”—trapped in 🔖the Arctic. But last week, the jet stream 🔖dipped south, bringing 🔖frigid weather all the way south to Texas.
德州一向以漫長炎熱的夏天加上溫和的冬天聞名，這也是為什麼上週全德州陷入冰天雪地會讓大家跌破眼鏡。正常來說，高速氣流會將盤旋的冷空氣（稱極地渦旋）圍在北極圈內。然而上週，高速氣流南下，將嚴寒的天氣也帶到了德州。
The series of winter storms that swept across Texas brought snow, ice, and some of the coldest temperatures the state has ever experienced. Temperatures in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio were lower than those in Anchorage, Alaska, and snow fell all the way to the Mexican border!
一連串的冰風暴橫掃德州，帶來冰雪與該州有史以來的最低溫。德州城市達拉斯、奧斯丁與聖安東尼奧的氣溫低於阿拉斯加的安克雷奇，雪甚至一路下到墨西哥邊境！
Because storms like these are so rare here, Texans—and the state’s 🔖infrastructure—just weren’t prepared for the effects of 🔖extreme cold weather. 🔖Frozen natural gas pipes and ice on power lines caused outages that left millions without gas or electricity, and icy roads resulted in thousands of accidents.
這類的暴雪在德州相當罕見，德州人與當地的基礎建設都沒有準備好應對此極寒天氣。結凍的天然氣管線、結冰的電線桿造成大規模停電，上百萬人斷瓦斯斷電，結冰的路面也導致了數千起車禍。
Left without power to heat their homes, people resorted to extreme measures to stay warm. Some ran their cars in their garages, and others ran generators indoors, resulting in hundreds of cases of carbon monoxide poisoning. By the time temperatures started to rise again, dozens of Texans had died, mostly from road accidents, 🔖carbon monoxide poisoning and 🔖hypothermia.
斷電無法使用家中暖氣，人們只得採取極端手段保暖。有些人在自家車庫發動車子，有的在室內開發電機，造成幾百起一氧化碳中毒事件。在氣溫回升到正常溫度之前，數十名德州人死亡，多數死於車禍、一氧化碳中毒以及失溫。
So are there any special terms for weather events like this? The most common term is ✏“cold snap,” which means a sudden short period of very cold weather. Why is it called a cold snap? When you snap your fingers, the sound is sudden and short—just like a cold snap. Another term with the same meaning is ✏“cold wave.” Although “cold wave” isn’t as common as “cold snap,” the opposite term, “heat wave,” is commonly used. Another related term is ✏“cold spell,” which usually refers to a period of cold weather longer than a cold snap.
有什麼詞可以形容這樣的天氣狀況呢？最常用到的詞是「cold snap（短暫的氣溫驟降，類似中文的「霸王級寒流」）」，指突然來襲的短期極寒天氣。為什麼要用到snap（打響指）這個字？打響指的聲音既突然又短促──就像這突如其來的天氣一樣。可以用的另一個詞則是「cold wave（冷浪）」，這個字雖然沒有cold snap常見，不過它的相反詞 heat wave（熱浪）倒是很常見。最後一個詞則是「cold spell」，通常用來形容比cold snap更長的寒流。
