English in News

Lead contamination crisis

Volume 90%

00:00

水是生命之源。

今天我們只消扭開水龍頭，就有食水。可是當不同屋苑相繼發現食水含鉛量超標後，手中這杯水，喝還是不喝？

Hong Kong’s lead-in-water contamination scare is a “social disaster” that would “roll bigger and bigger like a snowball”, a concern group for residents warned this morning, after three more public housing estates were dragged into the crisis.

contamination 污染

(noun 名詞)

► contaminate (verb 動詞)

例子：The pool is closed for swimming until the contamination is identified.

例子：Make sure not to allow bacteria to contaminate the wound.

例子：Please do not contaminate the white paint with any of the other colors.

disaster

(noun 名詞)

► disastrous (adjective 形容詞)

1. 災難

environmental disaster 環境災難
social disaster 社會災難
personal disasters 個人的不幸

例子：The tsunami was one of the worst natural disasters in the world.　海嘯是世界上其中一種最嚴重的天然災難

2. 失敗

例子：a complete disaster 徹底的失敗

例子：The birthday party was a complete disaster.　這個生日派對是徹底失敗

► disastrous 災難性

(adjective 形容詞)

例子：The town was destroyed by a disastrous fire. 整個城市被一場災難性的大火摧毀

例子：The typhoon could have a disastrous effect on the country's tourism industry.

颱風為國家的旅遊業帶來災難性的影響

roll bigger and bigger like a snowball 雪球愈滾愈大

► snowball effect 雪球效應

roll 滾動，捲起

(verb 動詞)

1. 翻滾

例子：He rolled out of bed. 他從床上滾了下來

2. 特別指（睡過頭之後）起床

例子：He rolled out of bed just before noon.　他睡到接近中午才起床

3. to be rolling in the aisles 笑聲不斷

例子：The comedy that has audiences rolling in the aisles 這齣喜劇令觀眾笑聲不斷

drag 拖

(verb 動詞)

to drag somebody/sth into/to sth . 把某人／某事硬扯到某事中

例子：Three more public housing estates were dragged into the crisis　再多三個公共屋邨被捲入這次危機當中

drag on 拖拉

(phrasal verb 片語動詞)

例子：The meeting dragged on for almost a week. 會議拖拉了接近一個星期

IDIOMS

snowball’s chance in hell 完全沒有機會

= a very poor chance / no chance at all (usually negative)

例子：Peter doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting it done before deadline.

Peter 不可能在死線前完成工作

例子：With those grades he hasn't a snowball's chance in hell of getting into university.

他憑這個成績根本沒有機會考進大學


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