怎样用英语描写飓风
18
不一会儿，飓风一下子掀掉了房子的整个屋顶，将屋顶在空中甩出了40英尺远。楼梯底层的几级台阶断裂开来。一面墙开始朝这群无处可逃的人倒塌下来。
A moment later, the hurricane, in one mighty swipe, lifted the entire roof off the house and skimmed it 40 feet through the air. The bottom steps of the staircase broke apart. One wall began crumbling on the marooned group.
19
位于佛罗里达州迈阿密市的国家飓风中心的主任辛普森博士将卡米尔号飓风列为“有过记载的袭击西半球居住区的最强风暴。”在飓风中心周围约35英里的范围内，风速接近200英里每小时，掀起的浪头高达30英尺。墨西哥湾沿岸地区，飓风过处一切皆被摧毁：19467座房屋和709个小商户不是被摧毁就是遭到严重破坏。格尔夫波特一个60万加仑的油罐被飓风刮起，甩出3.5英里远。三只大型货船被刮离泊位，吹到了沙滩上。电线杆和20英尺粗的松树被飓风刮断，发出噼噼啪啪的声响。
Dr. Robert H. Simpson, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., graded Hurricane Camille as "the greatest recorded storm ever to hit a populated area in the Western Hemisphere." In its concentrated breadth of some 70 miles it shot out winds of nearly 200 m.p.h. and raised tides as high as 30 feet. Along the Gulf Coast it devastated everything in its swath: 19,467 homes and 709 small businesses were demolished or severely damaged. It seized a 600,000-gallon Gulfport oil tank and dumped it 3.5 miles away. It tore three large cargo ships from their moorings and beached them. Telephone poles and 20-inch-thick pines cracked like guns as the winds snapped them.
20
位于格尔夫波特西边的 Pass Christian小镇几乎被夷为平地。住在该镇豪华的黎塞留公寓的几位度假者举办了一场飓风派对，从他们所处的有利位置观察着这场壮观的风暴。结果飓风像一只巨大无比的拳头将黎塞留公寓打得粉碎，26人因此丧生。
To the west of Gulfport, the town of Pass Christian was virtually wiped out. Several vacationers at the luxurious Richelieu Apartments there held a hurricane party to watch the storm from their spectacular vantage point. Richelieu Apartments were smashed apart as if by a gigantic fist, and 26 people perished.
1. swipe:
平时刷卡的“刷”用的就是这个词：
Instead of swiping your credit card, or inserting its chip to complete the payment process, contactless technology lets you make a purchase by placing or hovering your card or phone near a payment terminal, a.k.a. the credit card machine.
本文中swipe是名词，意思是：抡打，挥击
eg.
She took a swipe at him with her umbrella.
她抡起雨伞朝他打去。
2. skim:
（使）掠过，擦过，滑过
可以作单独使用的不及物动词，也可作后面跟名词的及物动词
eg.
We watched the birds skimming over the lakes.
我们看着鸟儿贴着湖面飞过。
Seagulls skimming the waves
擦过浪尖的海鸥
Some boys were skimming stones across the water.
几个小男孩用石头打水漂。
This report has barely skimmed the surface of the subject.
报告对这个问题谈得很肤浅。
3. maroon:
多个词性词义，本文是动词（常用被动语态）
To leave sb in a place that they cannot escape from 困住，无法逃脱
eg.
People marooned on a desert island
被困荒岛的人
Five couples were marooned in the caravans when the river broke its banks.
这条河决堤时，5对夫妇被困在了他们的房车里。
4. grade:
本文是动词：将……分级、分类等
eg.
Dusk masks are graded according to the protection they offer.
防尘口罩根据它们的防护效果分等级。
5. It tore three large cargo ships from their moorings and beached them.
tore, 动词原型是tear（常见的意思也许是名词“眼泪”）
意思是：
To remove sth from sth else by pulling it roughly or violently
拉掉，扯掉，撕掉等
（读音与作“眼泪”意思时不同）
eg.
The storm nearly tore the roof off.
暴风雨差一点儿把屋顶掀掉。
He tore off his hat and flung it to the ground.
他一把扯下帽子，扔在地上。
I tore another sheet from the pad.
我从本子上又撕下一张纸。
mooring:
停泊区
beach:
名词是“海滩”的意思，本文是动词，意思是“把……拖上岸，搁浅”
eg.
The boat beached on a mud flat.
船搁浅在一片淤泥滩上。
6. wipe sb/sth out
To destroy or remove sb/sth completely 彻底消灭，彻底销毁
eg.
Whole villages were wiped out by the earthquake.
地震把整座整座的村庄夷为平地。
A campaign to wipe out malaria
消灭疟疾的运动
7. vantage point:
A vantage point is a place from which you can see a lot of things
（便于观察的）有利位置
eg.
From a concealed vantage point, he saw a car arrive.
他从一个隐蔽的有利位置望出去，看见一辆车开了过来。
The cafe was a good vantage point for watching the world go by.
8. smash:
To break sth, or to be broken, violently and noisily into many pieces.
打烂，摔碎
eg.
He smashed the radio to pieces.
他啪的一声把收音机摔得粉碎。
The glass bowl smashed into a thousand pieces.
玻璃碗咣的一声摔了个粉碎。