EBS World News (5/16), Wildfires in the West

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/wildfires-west-19110632?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=1363340

Wildfires in the West 1

After a terrifying couple of days battling a monster blaze, today firefighters are cautiously breathing easier. To have a fire (that burn more than 28,000 acres in just a short amount of time in May) is something we don't see very often in California. So, today, the relief in the weather is also relief for firefighters. Remarkably no homes have been lost despite fire coming right up to some back doors. Fire captain Fernando Herrera says it's not just chance. You see a metal door, you see in exterior there’s stucco on that wood. He says some homes are built to survive.

  

Key Vocabulary & Expressions

monster 거대한, 괴물 같은

ex> put out a fire: 화재를 진압하다

blaze 화재, 불

breathing easier: 한숨을 돌리다

cautiously 조심스럽게

chance 우연, 기회, 가능성 ex> Chess is not a game of chance.

stucco  [^|stʌkoʊ]   치장 회반죽

Wildfires in the West 2

There is no openings here /that would allow any hot embers to come through. If we look at the roof line, we have a tile roof, excellent protection. Roofs made out of wood shingles make firefighters cringe /like the one on the only house /lost in this week’s fire in Banning, California. But overall, homes in California are becoming more fireproof. Since 2010 new houses must have sprinklers. The fire had nowhere to go because of defensible space. Firefighters also count on something called defensible space, an area around a home that is clear of dry brush that can supercharge wild fires. It helped save this home last year in Washington State.

Key Vocabulary & Expressions

ember 타고 남은 불, 불씨

shingle 지붕널, 널, 널빤지

cringe 움츠리다, 당혹해 하다 = cower [^|kaʊə(r)]

ex> a child cringing in terror

fireproof 내화성의, 잘 타지 않는 ex> water-proof, foolproof (실패할 염려가 없는, 누구나 할 수 있는).  This recipe is foolproof - it works every time.

count on something or someone ~을 의지하다, 믿다

defensible 방어 가능한, 방어할 수 있는

dry brush 마른 덤불

supercharge: to increase; boost