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Wildfires Spread and Threaten Thousands of Homes in New Mexico; Tornadoes Strike Several Southern U.S. States; A Robot Tries Its Hand At Manicuring.

CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Two different natural disasters headline today`s show as we wrap up the first full week of May. I`m Carl Azuz.

Right now, there are seven wildfires burning in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The National Interagency Fire Center says that`s the most in any

state and while seven might not seem like a huge number in a state that sees hundreds of wildfires every year, the largest one is the second

biggest New Mexico has had in decades. More than 170 homes have been destroyed in the northern part of the state thousands of other houses have

been evacuated.

And if this largest fire, the Hermits Peak Calf Canyon Fire continues to grow, it could threaten more than 15,000 homes in the days ahead.

Earlier this week, NASA reported that the blaze was 20 percent contained, meaning firefighters had blocked it from spreading over one-fifth of the

total area it covered but local governments said they didn`t think authorities would have complete control of the fire anytime soon.

Like other parts of the American West, New Mexico has been experiencing a severe drought. It`s affected almost 99 percent of the state, according to the

U.S. drought monitor. That makes fire conditions worse.

Governor Michele Lujan Grisham asked the federal government to declare a disaster in New Mexico. President Joe Biden did that. What it means is that

government helps in the form of money and recovery assistance has been sped up to the state.

Governor Grisham said New Mexico has emergency funds of its own to fight the fires but that it`s not enough. According to the National Weather

Service, the average number of acres that wildfires burn in New Mexico each year is around 300,000. That`s about how much has burned so far in this

year`s fire season.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

Which of these U.S. states is located in "Tornado Alley"?
 

alley [ˋælɪ] n. 小巷，胡同；后街；（花园里的）小径

Utah, South Dakota, Wyoming or Michigan?

Look, tornadoes have formed in every state. South Dakota is part of the region nicknamed "Tornado Alley".

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: There are different definitions for "Tornado Alley". It`s supposed to describe an area where tornadoes commonly occur in America, but the federal

government says the threat of these storms actually moves around the country depending on the time of year. One thing that`s not disputed about

tornado alley is that Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas are in it.

This twister was recorded a week ago in Kansas and a line of storms that moved across the southern U.S. this week spawned several reported tornadoes

in Texas and Oklahoma. Buildings were torn apart.

A resident of Oklahoma who was interviewed by the weather channel said some structures and houses were completely blown away. Thankfully, no deaths or

injuries were reported.

But the system didn`t just cause tornadoes, it also brought flooding into parts of Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, along with the need for

numerous water rescues, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasters said some areas of Arkansas and Louisiana were at risk for severe storms Thursday as this system moved east. Georgia, North Carolina

and Virginia could see storms on Friday.

The United States is said to have the most violent weather in the world and tornadoes are a big part of that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Technically, a tornado is just a violent rotating column of air coming out of the bottom of a thunderstorm. But it

takes a lot to get that violently rotating column to come out.

SUBTITLE: CNN Explains: Tornadoes.

MYERS: All you need for a tornado really to form though are thunderstorms and a jet stream. That jet stream`s aloft. It makes the energy. If you have
 

aloft [əˋlɔft] adv. 在高处；在空中

moisture at the surface, dry air, cold air pushing that moisture up, you can get a tornado to form in any state.

Those days where all the ingredients combined, you get the humidity, you get the dry air, you get the jet stream, you get upper energy in the jet

stream. You get winds turning as you go aloft, the higher you go the winds actually change direction. That can cause storms -- those things all cause

storms to exist and get big. Those are the ingredients that cause a big tornado day.

So now the EF scale, Enhanced Fujita scale, starts at zero, goes only to five, and anything above 200 miles per hour is considered an EF 5 tornado.

If you have a zero, you`re going to lose shingles.
 

shingle [ˋʃɪŋg!] n. 屋顶板，木瓦；木板钉成的屋顶

A one, you may lose a couple of boards on the roof.

A two, you`ll lose all the windows and maybe even a wall.

A three, EF 3, you will lose a couple of walls on the outside but there will still be a part of the home standing.

And a four, most of the home is gone but you`ll still see the refrigerator, you`ll still see a closet and you`ll still see the bathroom.

An EF 5, you cannot find the house. It`s completely gone.

We don`t know how big that Fujita scale will be, how big that tornado will be, literally until after we look at the damage.

We have this -- this almost this triangulation that no other country in the world no region in the world has. We have the Rocky Mountains to our west.
 

triangulation [͵traɪæŋgjəˋleʃən] n. 三角測量；三角剖分

We have the Gulf of Mexico in our south. We have Canada and very cold air masses coming down from the north.

All of those things combined make tornado out, typically the plains, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, all the way to Chicago, as far south as the

Southeast, including Georgia and Alabama, that`s basically the new or the bigger tornado alley.

The greatest threat of a tornado is being hit by something that the tornado is moving. If you`re outside or if you`re not protected inside, if you get

hit by a 140-mile-per-hour 2x4, you`re going to be killed. So you need to be inside on the lowest level somewhere in the middle of the home away from

windows.

When you hear the word "warning" and you hear your county, that`s when you need to take cover.

When you hear the word "watch", that means something might happen today, let`s have a plan.

When you hear the word "warning," it`s too late to make a plan. You need to already have the plan. Warning`s the long word, it`s the bad one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

AZUZ: Among the jobs you might not think could be done by robots -- manicures. The nail care industry in the United States is worth more than
 

manicure [ˋmænɪ͵kjʊr] n. 修指甲

$8 billion a year. Could a robotic newcomer that offers a lot less conversation and interaction change the way people get their nails done?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It`s not exactly a cure for getting manicures,

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Robot nails.

MOOS: It`s a robo manicure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The robot doesn`t expect tips.

MOOS: Instead of the buzz of conversation, there`s the whirring noise of the robot.
 

whir [hwɝ] v. 呼呼作声地飞（或转）

A company named Clockwork debuted two robots at a pop-up store in San Francisco recently. The robot takes a 3D photo of each nail, then paints it.
 

pop-up store 快闪店

Says one of the first customers --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For $8, I`m happy to have a robot do a much better job than I could do.

MOOS: Posted one commenter, so I wouldn`t have to make awkward conversation? Love it.

But others were worried. This is kind of sad. I love my nail lady. She works so hard for her business.

Clockwork`s co-founder says what they do is different from salons.
 

salon [səˋlɑn] n. 美发厅; 美容厅

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Quick serve beauty is what we call it. We`re going to be the express beauty experience versus, you know, the artistry and the

relaxation of a nail salon.

MOOS: Eventually, they hope to put the nail robots in airports, malls and gyms.

Another company is working on a similar device for home use, selling for 400 bucks.

The robo manicure caused one commenter to post: I would be terrified it would eat my fingers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the reality is that the machine is very safe. No one has ever been hurt by it.

MOOS: Though they have a jokey nickname.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We call it Frankie which is short for Frankenstein.
 

Frankenstein [ˋfræŋkən͵staɪn] n. 科学怪人

MOOS: What can`t Frankie do?

No clipping, no filing, no cutting cuticles. Forget comparisons to --
 

file [faɪl] v. 用锉刀锉

cuticle [ˋkjutɪk!] n. 表皮

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barbie digital nail printer.

MOOS: -- that made print designs, but it can`t paint. And for 8 to 10 bucks a manicure, Frankenstein`s creators are hoping customers say --

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, ACTOR: I`ll be back.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Some may say it`s loony, some might call it beautiful. To let a robot box detox deals right down to the cuticle. It`s an edgy concept, leaving
 

loony [ˋlunɪ] adj. 发疯的

edgy [ˋɛdʒɪ] adj. 前卫的；时尚的

many who are picky unimpressed from epithelium down to the hyponychium. But when it comes to manicures, if you`ve tried and failed, it might be thought
 

unimpressed [͵ʌnɪmˋprɛst] adj. 无深刻印象的

epithelium [͵ɛpəˋθilɪəm] n.【生】上皮

hyponychium [haɪpoˋnikɪəm] n. 甲床；甲下皮

from those polished clips that that nail machine might nail it.

Fridays are awesome! We`ve got Union Grove High School watching today from McDonough, Georgia. It`s great to see you.

Our YouTube channel is the one and only place we look for your shout-out requests.

I`m Carl Azuz.

END