河南千年一遇的洪灾牵动着全国人民的心，让我们一起为河南加油！
这里我们通过五个片段，说说用英语叙述洪灾时常用的一些词语，希望对英语爱好者有帮助。
Chen Shuying was sitting at home with her husband and their 3-year-old grandson on Tuesday when water began to surge through the door. Within minutes, it was well above her waist. “The water came so fast,” she said.
【译文】
周二，洪水涌进家门时，陈淑英(音译)正和她的丈夫以及3岁的孙子坐在家里。几分钟后，水就远远超过了她的腰部。"水来得太快了，" 她说。
surge: v. to increase suddenly and strongly; to move quickly and powerfully 汹涌；起大浪，蜂拥而来
e.g. An angry crowd surged through the gates of the president's palace. 愤怒的人群涌进了总统宫殿的大门。
【片段2】
They made it to the roof, where they waited for hours for the water to recede. Two days later, she still cannot return home, she said. They were lucky. Three neighbors — a grocery shopkeeper and two of the grocer’s customers — were swept away by the floodwaters and have not been seen since.
【译文】
他们爬上屋顶，在那里等了几个小时，直到水退去。她说，两天后，她仍然不能回家。他们是幸运的。三名邻居——一名杂货店店主和两名杂货店的顾客——被洪水冲走，此后再也没有出现。
(1) recede v. to move further away into the distance, or to become less clear or less bright 后退，减弱
e.g. As the boat picked up speed, the coastline receded into the distance until finally it became invisible. 随着船的加速，海岸线逐渐向远处退去，直到最后看不见为止。
(2) sweep v. to remove and/or take in a particular direction, especially in a fast and powerful way（迅猛地）推送，吹走；席卷，横扫
e.g. The boat was swept out to sea (= away from land) by the tide. 小船被潮水冲到海里去了。
【片段3】
The formidable destructive power of the floods that engulfed Henan Province in central China became clearer on Thursday, even as new areas were inundated. Still more rain is in the forecast, following days of torrential downpours, including the strongest on record in the area on Tuesday.
【译文】
周四，尽管有新的地区被洪水淹没，但席卷中国中部河南省的洪水的强大破坏力变得更加清晰。在连续几天的暴雨之后，天气预报说还会有更多的降雨，其中包括周二该地区有记录以来最强的降雨。
(1) engulf [ɪnˈɡʌlf] v. to surround and cover something or someone completely 吞没；吞食，狼吞虎咽
e.g. Northern areas of the country were engulfed by/in a snowstorm last night. 这个国家的北部地区昨晚被暴风雪吞没了。
(2) inundate [ˈɪnʌndeɪt] v. to flood an area with water 淹没；泛滥；浸水；（洪水般的）扑来
e.g. If the dam breaks it will inundate large parts of the town. 如果大坝决堤，将淹没城镇的大部分地区。
(3) torrential downpours [təˈrenʃl ˈdaʊnpɔː] 倾盆大雨 【复】
e.g. There is water everywhere — torrential downpours sweeping the streets and a mysterious flood in a main character's apartment. 到处都是水——湍流般的倾盆大雨横扫街道，一位主角的公寓里出现神秘的洪水。
【片段4】
Torrential rains have battered Henan province since last weekend, displacing thousands of people and causing huge economic damage, Henan authorities said Thursday.
【译文】
河南省有关部门周四表示，自上周末以来，暴雨袭击了河南省，数千人安置转移，造成巨大的经济损失。
batter v. If a place is battered by wind, rain, or storms, it is seriously damaged or affected by very bad weather.（风、雨或风暴等的）袭击，打坏
e.g. The country has been battered by winds of between fifty and seventy miles an hour. 这个国家一直受到时速50至70英里大风的袭击。
【片段5】
Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of 12 million people, is one of the worst-hit areas, with 12 killed after being trapped for hours on a flooded subway line. But many smaller cities and villages have also been badly ravaged.
【译文】
拥有1200万人口的省会郑州是受灾最严重的地区之一，12人在被洪水淹没的地铁线路上被困数小时后丧生。但许多较小的城市和村庄也遭到了严重破坏。
ravage v. to cause great damage to something 毁坏；破坏
e.g. Hurricane Mitch ravaged the tiny Central American country. 飓风米奇摧毁了这个中美洲小国。