First, I would like to thank all of you who have messaged me asking me if I and my family are okay.

首先，我要感謝所有給我發資訊詢問我和我的家人是否安好的人。

We are fortunate that our neighborhood was not affected by the fires, but our hearts break for many of our friends and for the thousands and thousands of LA residents who have lost their homes.

幸運的是，我們的社區沒有受到大火的影響，但我們為許多朋友和成千上萬失去家園的洛杉磯居民感到心碎。

In this video, I will teach you some vocabulary from the news about the Los Angeles fire disaster, and then at the end of the video, you will have a chance to practice your pronunciation and your accent.

在本影片中，我將教您一些有關洛杉磯火災災難的新聞詞彙，然後在影片結束時，您將有機會練習發音和口音。

By reading parts of the article, I will pause to give you a chance to repeat.

通過閱讀文章的部分內容，我會暫停一下，給你一個重複的機會。

In case you are interested in reading the entire article, I have put the link in the description below.

如果您有興趣閱讀整篇文章，我在下面的描述中提供了鏈接。

Okay, let's get started.

好了，我們開始吧。

The title of the article is, Los Angeles has never seen this level of destruction.

文章的標題是：洛杉磯從未見過如此嚴重的破壞。

Everything is burned down.

一切都被燒燬了。

Let's look at the first paragraph.

讓我們看看第一段。

The unprecedented scale of the destruction in Pacific Palisades came into horrifying focus Thursday from a fire that flattened a large swath of the community, rendering it unrecognizable.

週四，一場大火夷平了太平洋帕利塞德社區的大片土地，使其面目全非，其破壞規模之大前所未有，令人毛骨悚然。

Let's look at the meaning of unprecedented.

讓我們來看看 "前所未有 "的含義。

It comes from the word to precede, which means to come before.

它來源於 "先於 "一詞，意思是先出現。

So if something is unprecedented, it has never happened before.

如果一件事是史無前例的，那它就是從未發生過的。

It's completely new or unique.

它是全新的或獨一無二的。

The article states that the scale of destruction in Pacific Palisades was unprecedented.

文章稱，太平洋帕利塞德的破壞規模是前所未有的。

And this is Pacific Palisades.

這就是太平洋帕利塞德。

It's a beautiful neighborhood in Los Angeles near the beach.

這是洛杉磯靠近海灘的一個美麗社區。

And here are some before and after images.

下面是一些使用前後的圖片。

It's truly devastating.

這真是毀滅性的打擊。

It's shocking to see those images.

看到這些畫面令人震驚。

Let's practice using unprecedented.

讓我們練習使用前所未有的方法。

We can say, the company's success this year was unprecedented in its 50-year history.

可以說，公司今年取得的成功是其 50 年曆史上前所未有的。

The pandemic caused an unprecedented number of people to work from home.

大流行病導致空前數量的人在家工作。

The storm brought unprecedented amounts of rain.

暴風雨帶來了前所未有的大量降雨。

Let's look at the meaning of flattened.

讓我們來看看 "扁平化 "的含義。

Some people say flattened.

有人說是扁平化。

So you can say flattened or flattened.

所以，你可以說扁平化，也可以說扁平化。

The article says, a fire that flattened a large swath of the community.

文章說，一場大火夷平了大片社區。

To flatten means to make flat or level.

壓平的意思是使其平坦或平整。

To reduce something so that it's no longer raised.

將某物縮小，使其不再凸起。

We can say, the workers flattened the ground to prepare it for building the new house.

我們可以說，工人們平整了地面，為建造新房做好準備。

After the storm, the strong winds flattened many trees in the forest.

暴風雨過後，強風吹倒了森林中的許多樹木。

He accidentally flattened the box when he sat on it.

他坐在盒子上時，不小心把盒子壓扁了。

Flat is an adjective and to flatten is a verb.

Flat 是形容詞，flatten 是動詞。

Let's follow the same pattern with other adjectives and verbs.

讓我們用同樣的模式來學習其他形容詞和動詞。

We can say short and the verb is what?

我們可以說短，動詞是什麼？

To shorten.

縮短。

My dress is too long.

我的裙子太長了。

I will shorten my dress.

我會縮短我的裙子。

Soft becomes what?

軟變成了什麼？

Soften.

軟化。

We can say, she softened her voice when she was speaking to the child.

我們可以說，她對孩子說話時的聲音變輕了。

The butter softened after being left out of the refrigerator.

黃油從冰箱中取出後變軟了。

Sharp becomes what?

鋒利變成了什麼？

To sharpen.

削尖。

I sharpened the knife.

我磨好了刀。

I sharpened the pencil.

我把鉛筆削尖了。

Wide becomes to widen.

寬 "變成 "擴大"。

Widen.

拓寬。

They widened the road.

他們拓寬了道路。

I will widen my search to find a perfect job.

我會擴大搜索範圍，找到一份理想的工作。

Hard becomes to harden.

堅硬變成硬化。

Don't harden your heart.

不要心硬

His attitude hardened after the argument.

爭吵過後，他的態度變得強硬起來。

And bright becomes what?

明亮會變成什麼？

To brighten.

要明亮。

To brighten.

要明亮。

The sun brightened the room.

陽光照亮了整個房間。

Your smile brightened my entire day.

你的笑容照亮了我的一整天。

Let's look at the meaning of the noun a swath.

讓我們來看看名詞 a swath 的意思。

The article says, a fire that flattened a large swath of the community.

文章說，一場大火夷平了大片社區。

A swath is a strip or a section of something and it's often used to describe land.

狹長地帶是指某物的一條或一段，常用來描述土地。

And a large swath is a large area or section of land or people or even things.

而大片是指一大片或一大片的土地或人，甚至是事物。

We can say, the fire destroyed a large swath of the forest.

可以說，大火燒燬了大片森林。

The new law will affect a large swath of the population.

新法律將影響一大批人。

Farmers cleared a large swath of the land to grow crops.

農民們開墾了大片土地種植莊稼。

Let's listen to how some other people used it.

讓我們聽聽其他人是如何使用它的。

This left a lasting impact on large swaths of the country.

這給該國大片地區留下了持久的影響。

Taking images of vast swaths of the sky.

拍攝大片天空的影像。

And what I really want you to notice here is these large swaths of blue.

我真正想讓你們注意的是這裡的大片藍色。

Let's look at the meaning of the verb to render.

讓我們來看看 "渲染 "這個動詞的意思。

The article says, a fire that flattened a large swath of the community, rendering it unrecognizable.

文章說，一場大火夷平了大片社區，使其面目全非。

To render is to cause something to become.

渲染就是使某物成為某物。

To make something change into a specific condition.

使某物轉變為特定狀態。

So rendering it unrecognizable means making it unrecognizable.

讓它無法辨認就是讓它無法辨認。

We can say, the flood rendered the roads unusable for days.

可以說，洪水導致道路多日無法通行。

I was rendered speechless by the news.

這個消息讓我啞口無言。

The strong heat rendered the metal soft and easy to bend.

強烈的熱量使金屬變得柔軟，易於彎曲。

Let's continue reading to learn some more words.

讓我們繼續閱讀，學習更多單詞。

Entire swaths of the residential district, from its quaint village to the shores of the Pacific Ocean were completely gone.

從古色古香的村莊到太平洋沿岸，整個住宅區蕩然無存。

The architectural whimsy and lush landscaping reduced to burned out ruins with white smoke still billowing from the wreckage.

建築的奇思妙想和鬱鬱蔥蔥的景觀變成了被燒燬的廢墟，殘骸中還在冒著白煙。

Let's learn the meaning of the adjective quaint.

讓我們來學習形容詞 quaint 的意思。

The article says, from its quaint village, the neighborhood of Pacific Palisades had a little center that was really charming.

文章說，從古色古香的村莊開始，太平洋帕利塞茲附近就有一個小中心，非常迷人。

It was a little downtown area for the residents of that area and it was very quaint.

這是該地區居民的一個小鬧市區，非常古樸。

Let's look at the meaning of quaint.

讓我們來看看古樸的含義。

Something that is quaint is charming or old-fashioned or unusual in a pleasant way.

古色古香的東西是指迷人的、老式的或不尋常的、令人愉快的方式。

We can say, the quaint little village had cobblestone streets and small cottages.

我們可以說，這個古樸的小村莊有鵝卵石鋪就的街道和小別墅。

She loves the quaint teapot that she found in the antique shop.

她喜歡在古董店找到的古色古香的茶壺。

I love the restaurant's quaint decor.

我喜歡餐廳古色古香的裝飾。

And unfortunately, this little quaint area of Pacific Palisades is now gone.

遺憾的是，太平洋帕利塞德這個古色古香的小區域如今已不復存在。

It's so sad.

真是悲哀。

It's absolutely heartbreaking.

這絕對令人心碎。

Let's look at the next word, whimsy.

讓我們看看下一個詞，異想天開。

The noun is whimsy and the adjective is whimsical.

名詞是異想天開，形容詞是異想天開。

And the article says, the architectural whimsy.

文章還說，建築奇思妙想。

And whimsy is a sense of playfulness or imagination or fun, something unusual or amusing.

奇思妙想是一種俏皮感、想象力或趣味，是一種不尋常或有趣的東西。

We can say, the park was designed with whimsy, including colorful sculptures and winding paths.

可以說，公園的設計充滿了奇思妙想，包括色彩斑斕的雕塑和蜿蜒曲折的小路。

Her writing style is full of whimsy.

她的寫作風格充滿奇思妙想。

And we can say, she writes with a whimsical style.

可以說，她的寫作風格充滿奇思妙想。

Let's listen to how some other people used it.

讓我們聽聽其他人是如何使用它的。

You might experience some feelings of quaintness, whimsy.

你可能會體驗到一些古色古香、異想天開的感覺。

It's an imaginative little whimsy doodle.

這是一幅充滿想象力的小奇思妙想塗鴉。

It's for fun.

這是為了好玩。

It is for joy.

這是為了快樂。

Leipzig remembers its tough 20th century with a little whimsy.

萊比錫用一點奇思妙想來紀念其艱難的 20 世紀。

Let's look at the meaning of the adjective lush.

讓我們來看看形容詞茂盛的含義。

The article says, the architectural whimsy and lush landscaping.

文章說，建築奇思妙想，景觀鬱鬱蔥蔥。

If something is lush, it's full of healthy green plants.

如果某處鬱鬱蔥蔥，那就是長滿了健康的綠色植物。

It's rich and abundant.

它豐富而充實。

We can say, the garden was filled with lush flowers and trees.

可以說，花園裡到處都是鬱鬱蔥蔥的花草樹木。

After the rain, the countryside looked lush and vibrant.

雨後的鄉村顯得鬱鬱蔥蔥，生機勃勃。

And landscaping is the garden or the outdoor design.

而景觀設計就是花園或戶外設計。

It's carefully designed to be very lush.

它經過精心設計，鬱鬱蔥蔥。

We can say, the lush landscaping around the house made it feel like a tropical paradise.

可以說，房子周圍鬱鬱蔥蔥的園林景觀讓人感覺就像一個熱帶天堂。

Let's look at the meaning of the verb to billow.

讓我們來看看動詞 "波浪 "的意思。

The article says, reduced to burned out ruins with white smoke still billowing from the wreckage.

文章說，飛機已被燒成廢墟，殘骸上還冒著白煙。

The smoke was still billowing.

濃煙仍在瀰漫。

To billow is to move in waves, often because of wind or air.

波浪就是波浪式的移動，通常是由於風或空氣的作用。

We can say, smoke billowed from the chimney.

可以說，煙囪裡冒出了滾滾濃煙。

The curtains billowed in the wind coming through the open window.

窗簾在從敞開的窗戶吹進來的風中飄揚。

The sails of the ship billowed in the strong wind.

船帆在強風中飄揚。

Let's look at the meaning of wreckage.

讓我們來看看殘骸的含義。

A wreckage is the broken parts of something that has been destroyed.

殘骸是被毀壞的東西的破碎部分。

It could be a destroyed car or an airplane or a house or a building.

它可能是一輛被毀壞的汽車、一架飛機、一座房子或一棟建築。

We can say, rescue workers searched through the wreckage of the plane crash.

我們可以說，救援人員在飛機失事殘骸中進行了搜尋。

The storm left a path of wreckage with houses and trees destroyed.

暴風雨留下了一片殘垣斷壁，房屋和樹木被摧毀殆盡。

The wreckage of the car was barely recognizable.

汽車殘骸幾乎無法辨認。

Let's learn a few more words and after that we will read everything together so that you can practice your accent.

讓我們再學幾個單詞，然後我們一起讀所有的單詞，這樣你就可以練習你的口音了。

The scene was equally grim on Pacific Coast Highway where row after row of prized homes backing up onto the sand were incinerated and exposing direct views of the ocean to the road.

太平洋海岸公路上的景象同樣慘不忍睹，一排又一排背靠沙灘的珍貴房屋被焚燬，海景直接暴露在路面上。

What does the adjective grim mean?

形容詞嚴峻是什麼意思？

If you've been watching my vocabulary videos, then you know the meaning of this word.

如果你看過我的詞彙影片，那麼你就知道這個詞的意思。

The article states, the scene was equally grim on Pacific Coast Highway.

文章稱，太平洋海岸公路上的場面同樣慘不忍睹。

And grim means serious or unpleasant or gloomy, depressing, showing no hope or no cheerfulness.

而 "灰暗 "的意思是嚴肅、不愉快或陰沉、壓抑，沒有希望或不開朗。

We can say, the doctor gave him a grim prognosis.

可以說，醫生給他的預後很糟糕。

The news was grim.

消息很嚴峻。

Or we can talk about something we see.

或者我們可以談談我們看到的東西。

The sky looks grim and dark.

天空陰沉沉的。

There are heavy clouds.

烏雲密佈。

And before the storm, the sky looks grim.

而在暴風雨來臨之前，天空看起來很陰沉。

Let's look at the meaning of the adjective prized.

讓我們來看看形容詞 prized 的意思。

The article says, where row after row of prized homes.

文章說，那裡有一排又一排珍貴的房屋。

If something is prized, it's highly valued or it's considered very important.

如果某樣東西被視為珍品，那麼它就具有很高的價值或被認為非常重要。

We can say, this vase is one of my most prized possessions.

可以說，這個花瓶是我最珍貴的財產之一。

We often say prized possession.

我們常說珍愛之物。

That's a very common way to use it.

這是一種很常見的使用方法。

Let's look at to back up onto.

讓我們來看看如何備份。

The article says, where row after row of prized homes backing up onto the sand.

文章說，在這裡，一排又一排珍貴的房屋倒向沙灘。

To back up onto something is when something like a building or a house has its backside facing another area.

背對某物是指建築物或房屋等背對著另一個區域。

So backing up onto the sand means the house is directly next to the beach.

背靠沙灘意味著房子直接緊鄰海灘。

It's next to the ocean.

它毗鄰大海。

So they have an ocean view because the house backs up onto sand.

因為房子背靠沙灘，所以他們能看到海景。

This house backs up onto a forest.

這座房子背靠森林。

The apartment building backs up onto a busy highway.

公寓樓背靠繁忙的高速公路。

Let's look at the meaning of the verb to incinerate.

讓我們來看看 "焚化 "這個動詞的意思。

The article says, homes backing up onto the sand were incinerated.

文章說，背靠沙地的房屋被焚燬。

To incinerate means to burn something completely until it's turned to ash.

焚化的意思是把東西完全燒燬，直到化為灰燼。

We can say, the trash was incinerated in the large furnace.

我們可以說，垃圾是在大熔爐中焚燒的。

The wildfire incinerated hundreds of acres of forest.

野火焚燒了數百英畝的森林。

And now let's practice your accent by reading the story.

現在，讓我們通過朗讀故事來練習你的口音。

I will read and then I will pause to give you a chance to repeat.

我會先讀，然後暫停，讓你們有機會重複。

Pay attention to which words I'm stressing, how I'm pronouncing the individual words, and how I'm connecting the groups of words.

注意我強調了哪些單詞，我是如何發音單個單詞的，以及我是如何連接詞組的。

That's so important to having a good, natural sounding accent.

這對擁有良好、自然的口音非常重要。

OK, let's get started.

好了，我們開始吧。

Repeat after me.

跟我念

The unprecedented scale of destruction in Pacific Palisades came into horrifying focus Thursday from a fire that flattened a large swath of the community, rendering it unrecognizable.

週四，一場大火夷平了太平洋帕利塞德社區的大片土地，使其面目全非，前所未有的破壞規模成為駭人聽聞的焦點。

Entire swaths of the residential district, from its quaint village to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, were completely gone.

從古色古香的村莊到太平洋沿岸，整個住宅區蕩然無存。

The architectural whimsy and lush landscaping reduced to burned out ruins, with white smoke still billowing from the wreckage.

建築的奇思妙想和鬱鬱蔥蔥的景觀變成了被燒燬的廢墟，殘骸中還在冒著白煙。

It will take a very long time for Los Angeles to rebuild.

洛杉磯的重建需要很長的時間。

There's a very difficult road ahead, but I'm hopeful that the neighborhoods will come back and they will rebuild and it will once again be a beautiful place to live.

前方的道路非常艱難，但我希望居民區會回來，他們會重建，這裡將再次成為一個美麗的居住地。

Thanks for watching and keep practicing.

感謝觀看並繼續練習。