突发：日本发生大地震 7.3 magnitude quake hits north Japan A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima in northern Japan on Wednesday evening, triggering a tsunami advisory and plunging more than 2 million homes in the Tokyo area into darkness. plunge [plʌndʒ] v.（使）突然陷入；（使）突然遭受 周三晚上，日本北部福岛附近海域发生7.3级强烈地震，引发海啸警报，东京地区200多万户房屋陷入黑暗。 The region is part of northern Japan that was devastated by a deadly 9.0 quake and tsunami 11 years ago that also caused nuclear plant meltdowns. devastate [ˈdevəsteɪt] v. to completely destroy a place or an area 彻底破坏；摧毁；毁灭 nuclear plant 核电站 The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no longer a tsunami threat though the Japan Meteorological Agency kept its low risk advisory in place. NHK national television said tsunami waves of 20 centimeters (8 inches) already reached shore in one area. The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant where the cooling systems failed after the 2011 disaster, said workers found no abnormalities at the site, which was in the process of being decommissioned. abnormality [ˌæbnɔ:ˈmæləti; 美 -nɔ:rˈm-] n. 反常情况，变态特征 decommission [ˌdi:kəˈmɪʃn] v.正式停止使用（武器、核电站等） Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that there were also no abnormalities at two other nuclear power plants in the area. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake hit at 11:36 p.m. at a depth of 60 kilometers (36 miles) below the sea. Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force said it dispatched fighter jets from the Hyakuri base in Ibaraki prefecture, just south of Fukushima, for information gathering and damage assessment. dispatch [dɪˈspætʃ] v.派遣；调遣 assessment [əˈsesmənt] n.评估;评定 NHK said there were reports of fire, damage to buildings and falling rocks in Iitate town in Fukushima. There was no word on any casualties. More than 2 million homes were without electricity in the Tokyo region serviced by TEPCO due to the quake, the utility said on its website. The quake shook large parts of eastern Japan, including Tokyo, where buildings swayed violently. East Japan Railway Co. said most of its train services were suspended for safety checks. suspend [səˈspend] v..暂缓;推迟;暂停 Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that the government was assessing the extent of damage and promised to do its utmost for rescue and relief operations. assess [əˈses] v.评估，评定 (红色部分为2017课标词汇，高中生要求掌握；蓝色为非课标词汇) 本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/doc/20dad943deccda38376baf1ffc4ffe473268fd4c.html