VOA慢速英语:Long Drought Affects Oklahoma Farmers

短语讲解：

1. "Things looked phenomenal because of the mild weather and the showers we were able to catch, but then August 1st, it's like a blowtorch showed up."

because of 由于
例句：Because of the bad weather, the voyage was put back twelve hours. 
由于天气恶劣而推迟了十二小时启航。 
be able to 能，会; 能够
例句：How soon will china be able to clean up its air?
中国能在多短时间内将空气变清洁？

2. "When it started rain(ing), we jumped in and tried that crop and it was able to beat the heat of August and finish out and make a decent crop before it burned up in August."

burn up 烧起来，烧掉
例句：Ain't they supposed to burn up or something?
他们不是该烧起来吗？

3. He has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for machines to help him harvest his crop.

hundreds of thousands of 几十万，无数
例句：Hundreds of thousands of workers were needlessly killed, maimed, or disabled each years. 
每年有无数工人不必要地死亡、受伤或失去工作能力。 

4. So farmers in southwestern Oklahoma are doing what farmers throughout the world have done for centuries: they are hoping for a better year, next year.

hope for 盼望
例句：Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. 
〔谚语〕作最好的打算，作最坏的准备。