這裏是德州基林胡德堡…你看到的每一盞燈都是人們在車裏取暖和給設備充電…這條街容納了大約300戶家庭——停電21小時。接下來一系列災難襲來，停水、停電、停天然氣、食物鏈斷裂、救援措施受阻，拜登宣佈德州進入重大災難狀態。President Biden said on Friday that he planned to declare a major disaster in Texas which would allow for additional federal aid to be routed to residents struggling to access basic necessities after a deadly winter storm.
看到這裏，英大不免想起2004年的經典災難片《後天》（The Day After Tomorrow）。故事中，兩極冰川融化淹沒了整個地球，自由女神被洪水沖垮的畫面成爲了影視的經典。
The weather has also created extremely dangerous conditions on the roads and brought traffic jams to some areas.這種天氣也給道路造成了極其危險的狀況，並給一些地區帶來了交通堵塞。
traffic jams 交通堵塞；交通擁堵
Around 13 million people - which is nearly half of the state's population - have faced problems with getting clean water too, because hundreds of systems have been damaged by the freezing temperatures.
給那些沒有暖氣的人的小妙招。找一個帳篷，把它放在牀上。蓋上1或2條毯子保溫。當房間裏的溫度降到40度時，這能讓我們一家人保持溫暖，帳篷裏的溫度是80度。我們用了一個從沃爾瑪買來的20美元的帳篷，這個帳篷從去年起就一直放在我的車庫裏。如果你家裏停電但有一個帳篷，我建議你也這樣做。沒有帳篷的話可以買一個，因爲誰知道啥時候停電呢。孩子們玩得很開心，溫暖舒適地睡着了。希望大家平安。看着這腦洞大開的一幕幕，是不是感覺既搞笑又心酸？不過至少他們成功解決了問題，但另一些人就沒那麼幸運了。In Houston, a woman and child accidentally suffocatedthemselves with carbon monoxide trying to stay warm in their car. 在休斯頓，一名婦女和一名兒童在車內取暖時意外被一氧化碳窒息而死。
suffocate /'sʌfəkeɪt/ v. (使某人)窒息而死，呼吸困難, 窒息
carbon monoxide 一氧化碳
在德州暴風雪中，兩名市民因使用汽車取暖導致一氧化碳中毒死亡。
Two people in Austin died in a fire that likely resulted from an attempt to stay warm. 奧斯丁有兩人在火災中喪生，這場火災可能是由於試圖保暖引起的。Here in San Antonio, a man in his 70s was found dead, apparently from exposure. 在聖安東尼奧，一名70多歲的男子被發現死亡，顯然是由於暴露在室外。Many Texans were without power, water, or both for days, left to choose between the risk of contracting COVID-19 at a shelter and the danger of freezing in their home.許多德州人連續幾天沒有電、沒有水，或者兩者都沒有，他們不得不在避難所感染新冠的風險和家中被凍住的風險之間做出選擇。
“Like millions of Texans, our family lost heat and power, too,” Cruz said. Because his daughters’ school was canceled due to the weather, Cruz and his wife, Heidi, decided to allow them to take “a trip with friends.” 克魯茲說：“和數百萬德州人一樣，我們家也失去了熱量和電力。”由於天氣原因，他女兒的學校被取消了，克魯茲和他的妻子海蒂決定允許自己“和朋友一起旅行”。“Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon,” he said. “我想成爲一個好爸爸，所以我昨晚和他們一起去了，然後今天下午飛回來了。”他說。雖然事後他還在不停爲自己狡辯，但大家根本不買賬，甚至要求罷免克魯茲。
罷免克魯茲。大家對克魯茲的怒火還未消減，又有最新消息稱，拋棄市民“開溜”的可不止他一人。Cruz wasn’t the state’s only elected Republican to skip town for warmer temperatures, or at least reliable power. 克魯茲並不是該州唯一一個因寒冷或停電而逃難的共和黨人。Last week, the Houston Chronicle reported that state representative Gary Gates flew to Orlando on a private jet after his home lost power.
And on Monday, the Dallas Morning News reported that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, state senator Angela Paxton, traveled to Utah last week amid the failure of his state’s power grid.
