Big Fires in the Western United States
美國西部大火
Introduction
Three firefighters died in big fires in the western United States. The leaders of Utah and Colorado say the situation is an emergency.
美國西部發生大火，導致三名消防員死亡。猶他州與科羅拉多州的領導人表示目前處於緊急狀態。
Main Body
Three firefighters died on June 27. Two other workers are hurt. These fires are now one big fire called the Snyder Mesa Fire. It burned a lot of land.
6月27日有三名消防員死亡。另外兩名工人受傷。這些火災現在合併成一場名為「Snyder Mesa」的大火，燒毀了大量土地。
Another fire in Utah is the biggest fire in the country. It burned houses and a ski resort. The land is rocky, so trucks cannot move fast. In Arizona, people must leave their homes because of fires.
猶他州的另一場火災是全國最大的火災。它燒毀了房屋和一座滑雪場。由於地形多岩石，卡車無法快速移動。在亞利桑那州，人們因為火災而必須撤離家園。
The weather is very hot and dry. There was not much snow last winter. The wind is very strong. This makes the fires grow fast.
天氣非常炎熱且乾燥。去年冬天沒有多少積雪。風力非常強勁，這使得火勢擴散迅速。
Governors in Utah and Colorado are helping. They stopped people from using fireworks. Some power companies turned off electricity to stop new fires.
猶他州與科羅拉多州的州長正在提供協助。他們禁止民眾使用煙火。部分電力公司切斷了電源，以防止新的火災發生。
Conclusion
The weather is still dangerous. Many big fires are still burning.
天氣仍然危險。許多大火仍在燃燒。
Vocabulary Learning
⚡ THE 'NOW' VS 'THEN' PATTERN
Look at how the text talks about things that happened (Past) and things that are happening (Present).
1. Finished Actions (Past) We use a simple change to the word to show it is over.
- Die → Died
- Burn → Burned
- Stop → Stopped
2. Current Situations (Present) We use the word as it is, or add a small change for descriptions.
- The weather is hot.
- The fires are big.
- Trucks cannot move.
💡 QUICK GUIDE: Word Links
- Hot and dry → This describes the weather.
- Fast → This describes the speed (The fire grows fast / Trucks move fast).
⚠️ KEY VOCABULARY
- Emergency → A very dangerous situation.
- Leave → To go away from a place.
- Strong → Powerful (like the wind).