Upper-Intermediate - Into the Sandstorm (D1419)

A: 你准备出门吗?今天能见度很低,你小心一点。
nǐ zhǔnbèi chūmén ma? jīntiān néngjiàndù hěn dī, nǐ xiǎoxīn yīdiǎn.
Are you getting ready to go out? Visibility is really low today. Be careful.
B: 嗯。老婆,我的冲锋衣放哪儿了?
ng4. lǎopó, wǒ de chōngfēngyī fàng nǎr le?
I will. Honey, where did you put my ski jacket?
A: 在大衣柜里。今天怎么像笼罩着一层雾似的?
zài dàyīguì lǐ. jīntiān zěnme xiàng lǒngzhào zhe yī céng wù shìde?
It's in the wardrobe. Why does today seem like it's shrouded in a layer of fog?
B: 天气预报说,今天的空气质量很差。不过这可不是雾,是沙尘。
tiānqì yùbào shuō, jīntiān de kōngqì zhìliàng hěn chà. bùguò zhè kě bùshì wù, shì shāchén.
The weather report today said that the air quality was really bad. But this isn't fog, it's sand dust.
A: 那么厉害啊,我们南方好像很少碰到呢。
nàme lìhai a, wǒmen nánfāng hǎoxiàng hěn shǎo pèngdào ne.
That bad, huh? We don't seem to run into this much in the South.
B: 最近雨水少,气候干燥。而且,我们这边靠近蒙古南部的戈壁地区,所以到了春末夏初,经常会有沙尘天气,有时还会有沙尘暴呢。
zuìjìn yǔ shuǐ shǎo, qìhòu gānzào. érqiě, wǒmen zhèbiān kàojìn Ménggǔ nánbù de gēbì dìqū, suǒyǐ dào le chūn mò xià chū, jīngcháng huì yǒu shāchén tiānqì, yǒushí hái huì yǒu shāchénbào ne.
These days there isn't much rainfall and the climate is dry. Also, up here, we're right against the area of the Gobi Desert in the southern part of Mongolia, so at the end of spring and beginning of summer, there's often sand dust in the air. Sometimes there are even sandstorms.
A: 沙尘暴,听上去就很恐怖。
shāchénbào, tīngshàngqù jiù hěn kǒngbù.
Sandstorms? Just the sound of it is horrible.
B: 我以前碰上过几次,大风卷着沙子和灰尘直往你的耳朵和鼻孔里钻,眼睛都睁不开。
wǒ yǐqián pèngshàng guo jǐ cì, dàfēng juǎn zhe shāzi hé huīchén zhí wǎng nǐ de ěrduo hé bíkǒng lǐ zuān, yǎnjing dōu zhēngbukāi.
I've been in a few before. The wind mixes the sand and dust together and they get stuck directly in your ears and nostrils. You can't even open your eyes.
A: 那吹到脸上也会很疼吧?你别忘了带口罩啊。
nà chuī dào liǎn shàng yě huì hěn téng ba? nǐ bié wàng le dài kǒuzhào a.
Then when it blows in your face, it hurts quite a bit, yeah? Don't forget to wear your face mask then.
B: 当然咯。哎?我的护目镜呢?
dāngrán lo. āi? wǒ de hùmùjìng ne?
Of course. Huh? Where are my goggles?
A: 等会儿,我去帮你找找。
děng huǐr, wǒ qù bāng nǐ zhǎo zhao.
One second. I'll go find them for you.
B: 现在的自然环境越来越糟糕了。电视上天天都在报导西南地区的旱情,听说云南和贵州已经半年多没下雨了,人们连水都喝不上了。
xiànzài de zìrán huánjìng yuèláiyuè zāogāo le. diànshì shàng tiāntiān dōu zài bàodǎo xīnán dìqū de hànqíng, tīngshuō Yúnnán hé Guìzhōu yǐjīng bàn nián duō méi xiàyǔ le, rénmen lián shuǐ dōu hēbushàng le.
These days the natural environment is getting worse and worse. Every day there's a report on the TV about the drought situation in the Southwest. I heard it hasn't rained for more than a half a year in Yunnan and Guizhou. People don't even have enough water to drink.
A: 嗯,所以说环保越来越重要了。找到了,你的护目镜。
ng4, suǒyǐ shuō huánbǎo yuèláiyuè zhòngyào le. zhǎodào le, nǐ de hùmùjìng.
Yeah, so that's why environmentalism is becoming more and more important. I found them. Here are your goggles.
B: 前阵子地震不是也很多吗?所以很多人都在说,世界末日快到了,哎,你说我再带一个摩托车头盔好不好?
qiánzhènzi dìzhèn bùshì yě hěn duō ma? suǒyǐ hěn duō rén dōu zài shuō, shìjiè mòrì kuài dào le, āi, nǐ shuō wǒ zài dài yī ge mótuōchē tóukuī hǎo bu hǎo?
Weren't there a bunch of earthquakes in the last little bit as well? So that's why so many people are saying that the end of the world is coming soon. Hey, do you think I should I wear a motorcycle helmet as well? How about that?
A: 哇,你这一打扮,像生化战士一样。
wā, nǐ zhè yī dǎbàn, xiàng shēnghuà zhànshì yīyàng.
Wow, in this get-up you look just like a 'bio-soldier'.
B: 好,生化战士准备出发去买酱油了。
hǎo, shēnghuà zhànshì zhǔnbèi chūfā qù mǎi jiàngyóu le.
OK, the 'bio-soldier' is ready to go out and buy some soy sauce.

Key Vocabulary

能见度 néngjiàndù visibility
冲锋衣 chōngfēngyī ski-jacket
笼罩 lǒngzhào to envelop
fog
沙尘 shāchén sand dust
干燥 gānzào dry, arid
蒙古 Ménggǔ Mongolia
戈壁 gēbì Gobi
春末夏初 chūnmòxiàchū end of spring and beginning of summer
沙尘暴 shāchénbào sandstorm
恐怖 kǒngbù horrible
卷着 juǎnzhe to be rolled up
口罩 kǒuzhào face mask, mouth cover
护目镜 hùmùjìng goggles, protective eye-wear
报导 bàodǎo to report
旱情 hànqíng drought situation
喝不上 hēbushàng to be unable to drink
环保 huánbǎo environmentally friendly
前阵子 qiánzhènzi recently
世界末日 shìjiè mòrì doomsday
头盔 tóukuī helmet
打扮 dǎbàn to dress up, way of dressing
生化战士 shēnghuàzhànshì 'bio-soldier'

Supplementary Vocabulary

龙卷风 lóngjuǎnfēng tornado, twister, cyclone
旱灾 hànzāi drought
新闻报道 xīnwénbàodào news coverage
扬沙天气 yángshātiānqì sandy/dusty weather

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