(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
The western American city of San Francisco, California suffered a huge earthquake on April 18th, 1906. More than three thousand people are known to have died. The true number of dead will never be known. Two hundred fifty thousand people lost their homes. Just a few hours after the terrible earthquake, a magazine named Collier's sent a telegraph message to the famous American writer Jack London. They asked Mr. London to go to San Francisco and report about what he saw. He arrived in the city only a few hours after the earthquake. The report he wrote is called, "The Story of an Eyewitness." Not in history has a modern city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone. Nothing remains of it but memories and a few homes that were near the edge of the city. Its industrial area is gone. Its business area is gone. Its social and living areas are gone. The factories, great stores and newspaper buildings, the hotels and the huge homes of the very rich, are all gone.
Within minutes of the earthquake the fires began. Within an hour a huge tower of smoke caused by the fires could be seen a hundred miles away. And for three days and nights this huge fire moved in the sky, reddening the sun, darkening the day and filling the land with smoke. Providing for homeless thousands - delivering bread at Commissary tent. There was no opposing the flames. There was no organization, no communication. The earthquake had smashed all of the modern inventions of a twentieth century city. The streets were broken and filled with pieces of fallen walls. The telephone and telegraph systems were broken. And the great water pipes had burst. All inventions and safety plans of man had been destroyed by thirty seconds of movement by the earth. By Wednesday afternoon, only twelve hours after the earthquake, half the heart of the city was gone. I watched the huge fire. It was very calm. There was no wind. Yet from every side, wind was pouring in upon the city. East, west, north and south, strong winds were blowing upon the dying city. The heated air made a huge wind that pulled air into the fire, rising into the atmosphere. Day and night the calm continued, and yet, near the flames, the wind was often as strong as a storm.
There was no water to fight the fire. Fire fighters decided to use explosives to destroy buildings in its path. They hoped this would create a block to slow or stop the fire. Building after building was destroyed. And still the great fires continued. Jack London told how people tried to save some of their possessions from the fire. Wednesday night the whole city crashed and roared into ruin, yet the city was quiet. There were no crowds. There was no shouting and yelling. There was no disorder. I passed Wednesday night in the path of the fire and in all those terrible hours I saw not one woman who cried, not one man who was excited, not one person who caused trouble. Throughout the night, tens of thousands of homeless ones fled the fire. Some were wrapped in blankets. Others carried bedding and dear household treasures. Many of the poor left their homes with everything they could carry. Many of their loads were extremely heavy. Throughout the night they dropped items they could no longer hold. They left on the street clothing and treasures they had carried for miles. Many carried large boxes called trunks. They held onto these the longest. It was a hard night and the hills of San Francisco are steep. And up these hills, mile after mile, were the trunks dragged. Many a strong man broke his heart that night. Before the march of the fire were soldiers. Their job was to keep the people moving away from the fire. The extremely tired people would arise and struggle up the steep hills, pausing from weakness every five or ten feet. Often, after reaching the top of a heart-breaking hill, they would find the fire was moving at them from a different direction.
After working hour after hour through the night to save part of their lives, thousands were forced to leave their trunks and flee. At night I walked down through the very heart of the city. I walked through mile after mile of beautiful buildings. Here was no fire. All was in perfect order. The police patrolled the streets. And yet it was all doomed, all of it. There was no water. The explosives were almost used up. And two huge fires were coming toward this part of the city from different directions.Four hours later I walked through this same part of the city. Everything still stood as before. And yet there was a change. A rain of ashes was falling. The police had been withdrawn. There were no firemen, no fire engines, and no men using explosives. I stood at the corner of Kearney and Market Streets in the very heart of San Francisco. Nothing could be done. Nothing could be saved. The surrender was complete. It was impossible to guess where the fire would move next. In the early evening I passed through Union Square. It was packed with refugees. Thousands of them had gone to bed on the grass. Government tents had been set up, food was being cooked and the refugees were lining up for free meals.
Late that night I passed Union Square again. Three sides of the Square were in flames. The Square, with mountains of trunks, was deserted. The troops, refugees and all had retreated. The next morning I sat in front of a home on San Francisco's famous Nob Hill. With me sat Japanese, Italians, Chinese and Negroes. All about were the huge homes of the very rich. To the east and south of us were advancing two huge walls of fire. I went inside one house and talked to the owner. He smiled and said the earthquake had destroyed everything he owned. All he had left was his beautiful house. He looked at me and said, "The fire will be here in fifteen minutes." Outside the house the troops were falling back and forcing the refugees ahead of them. From every side came the roaring of flames, the crashing of walls and the sound of explosives. Day was trying to dawn through the heavy smoke. A sickly light was creeping over the face of things. When the sun broke through the smoke it was blood-red and small. The smoke changed color from red to rose to purple.
I walked past the broken dome of the City Hall building. This part of the city was already a waste of smoking ruins. Here and there through the smoke came a few men and women. It was like the meeting of a few survivors the day after the world ended. The huge fires continued to burn on. Nothing could stop them. Mister London walked from place to place in the city, watching the huge fires destroy the city. Nothing could be done to halt the firestorm. In the end, the fire went out by itself because there was nothing left to burn. Jack London finishes his story: All day Thursday and all Thursday night, all day Friday and Friday night, the flames raged on. Friday night saw the huge fires finally conquered, but not before the fires had swept three-quarters of a mile of docks and store houses at the waterfront.
San Francisco at the present time is like the center of a volcano. Around this volcano are tens of thousands of refugees. All the surrounding cities and towns are jammed with the homeless ones. The refugees were carried free by the railroads to any place they wished to go. It is said that more than one hundred thousand people have left the peninsula on which San Francisco stood. The government has control of the situation, and thanks to the immediate relief given by the whole United States, there is no lack of food. The bankers and businessmen have already begun making the necessary plans to rebuild this once beautiful city of San Francisco.
重点解析
1.be filled with 充满；装满
You shall be filled with praises and thanksgiving, even in the midst of pain.
即使处于痛苦当中，你仍会充满赞美和感恩。
2.use up 用光；用尽
I am going to use up all of the ink.
我要把所有的墨水都用完。
3.thousands of 成千上万的；数以千计的
The library attracts thousands of scholars and researchers.
那个图书馆吸引了成千上万的学者和研究人员。
4.wish to 想要，希望
I don't wish to see him.
我不想见他。
参考译文
《目击者的故事》。1906年4月18日，美国西部城市加利福尼亚州旧金山遭受了一场大地震。已知有三千多人死亡，真正的死亡人数将永远不得而知。25万人失去家园。就在那次可怕的地震发生后几个小时，一家名叫科利尔的杂志给美国著名作家杰克·伦敦发了一封电报。他们请伦敦先生去旧金山报道他所看到的一切。地震发生后几个小时他才到达这个城市，他撰写的报告题为《目击者的故事》。历史上从未有过一座现代化的城市被如此彻底摧毁。旧金山不见了，除了记忆和城市边缘的几栋房子外，什么都没有留下。它的工业区、商业区、社交和生活区域都消失了。工厂、大商店、报馆、旅馆和富人的豪宅都不见了。
地震发生几分钟后，引起了大火。不到一个小时，在一百英里外就能看到一座由大火引起的巨大的烟雾塔。三天三夜，这场大火在天空中移动，使太阳变红，白昼变暗，大地充满烟雾。为无家可归的数千人提供食物，在小卖部帐篷里送面包。没有人灭火，没有组织，没有交流，地震摧毁了一座20世纪城市的所有现代发明。街道破损，到处都是倒塌的墙壁。电话和电报系统毁坏了，大水管破裂了，人类所有的发明和安全计划都被地球30秒的运动摧毁了。到周三下午，地震发生后仅12小时，城市的一半中心区已经消失。我看着大火，当时火势非常平缓，没有风。然而，风从四面八方吹向这座城市。东、西、北、南，强风正吹向这座垂死的城市。热空气产生一股巨大的风，把空气吹入火中，升入大气层中。白天黑夜的交替，平静的状况持续下去。然而，在火焰附近，风常常像暴风雨一样猛烈。
没有用来灭火的水，消防队员决定用炸药摧毁燃烧的建筑物。他们希望这会造成屏障来减缓或阻止大火。一栋又一栋的建筑物遭到摧毁，大火仍在继续。杰克·伦敦讲述了人们如何试图从火灾中拯救自己的一些财产。周三晚上，整座城市轰然倒塌，然而它却非常安静。没有人群，没有喊叫，没有任何混乱。周三晚上，我路过着火的地方，在那可怕的几个小时里，我没有看到一个女人哭泣，也没有一个男人兴奋，没有一个人惹麻烦。
整晚，成千上万无家可归的人逃离大火。有些人包在毯子里，其他人则带着被褥和珍贵的家当。许多穷人带着他们能带的东西离开了家。他们装的许多物品都很重，整晚他们都在扔拿不了的东西。他们把带了好几英里的衣服和财宝留在了街上。许多人都带着叫行李箱的大箱子，这些是他们拿得最久的东西。那是一个艰苦的夜晚，旧金山的山势很陡。在这些山丘上，一英里又一英里，人们拖着行李箱。那天晚上，许多强壮的人使自己心伤。走在火势之前的是士兵，他们的任务是让人们远离大火。极度疲惫的人们会站起来，挣扎着爬上陡峭的山丘，每隔五到十英尺就会因虚弱而停下来。通常，在到达令人心碎的山顶后，他们会发现火正从另一个方向向他们移动。
为了在夜间挽救部分生命，数千人被迫扔掉行李箱逃离。晚上，我穿过城市的中心地带，走过一英里又一英里美丽的建筑物。这里没有火，一切都井然有序，警察在街上巡逻。但这一切都难逃劫数。没有水，炸药几乎用尽。两处大火正从不同的方向向城市的这一部分袭来。四个小时后，我穿过了城市的同一部分。一切仍然像以前一样，但有一个改变。一场灰烬落下，警察已经撤离。没有消防员和消防车，也没有人使用炸药。我站在旧金山市中心的卡尼街和市场街的拐角处，什么也做不了，什么也救不了，完全屈服。不可能猜到火下一步会移动到哪里。傍晚时分，我经过联合广场，那里挤满了难民。成千上万的人躺在草地上睡觉。政府搭建了帐篷，为人们烹制食物，难民们正在排队等候免费用餐。那天深夜，我又路过联合广场。广场的三面着火了，林荫成山的广场空无一人。军队、难民和所有人都已经撤离。第二天早上，我坐在旧金山著名的诺布山的一户人家前。和我坐在一起的有日本人、意大利人、中国人和黑人。周围都是富人的豪宅，我们的东面和南面正有两道巨大的火墙在推进。
我走进一栋房子，和房主谈了谈。他笑着说，地震摧毁了他所有的一切，他只剩下漂亮的房子了。他看着我说：“大火十五分钟后就到了。”在屋外，部队正在撤退，迫使难民走在他们前面。从四面八方传来火焰的轰鸣声、墙壁的破碎声和爆炸声。天色正试图从浓烟中破晓，一道病态的光正悄悄地笼罩在事物之上。太阳从烟雾中冲出时，是血红色的，也很小。烟的颜色从红色变成玫瑰色，再变成紫色。我走过市政厅大楼破碎的穹顶。这座城市的这一部分已经是一片废墟，从烟雾中不时走来几个男人和女人，就像是世界末日后几位幸存者的聚会。大火继续燃烧，没有什么能阻止它们。伦敦先生在城里走来走去，看着大火摧毁着城市。无法阻止这场大火。最后，大火自己熄灭了，因为没有什么东西可以再烧了。杰克·伦敦结束了他的故事：周四一整天和周四晚上，周五一整天和周五晚上，火苗熊熊燃烧。周五晚上，大火终于被扑灭，但此时大火已经席卷了四分之三英里的海滨码头和仓库。
现在的旧金山就像火山的中心，这座火山周围有成千上万的难民。周围所有的城镇都挤满了无家可归的人，铁路免费将难民们送到他们想去的任何地方。据说，超过10万人离开了旧金山所在的半岛。政府已经控制了局势，而且由于整个美国的紧急救济，粮食并不短缺。银行家和商人已经开始制定必要的计划，重建这座曾经美丽的城市旧金山。
