纽约再次发生大规模停电，这时间也太巧了吧！
当地时间13日，美国纽约曼哈顿（Manhattan）发生大规模停电，至少数万人受到影响。据介绍，停电原因是变压器起火。
据了解，这是继1977年后当地的又一次大停电。而巧合的是，这一天正是1977年大停电是同一天，刚好42周年纪念日。
Power Restored to Manhattan’s West Side After Major Blackout
The New York TImes
A power failure plunged a stretch of the West Side of Manhattan into darkness on Saturday night, trapping people in subway cars and elevators for a time, leaving drivers to fend for themselves at intersections with no traffic signals and eerily dimming the lights in a swath of Times Square.
plunge ( sb/sth ) into sth
表示“（使某人/某物）陷入[遭受]（某种困难或不利局面）”，英文解释为“to suddenly experience a difficult or unpleasant situation, or to make someone or something do this”举个🌰：
The house was suddenly plunged into darkness.
房子一下子陷入黑暗之中。
stretch
作名词：
1）表示“（尤指狭长的）一片地域，一片水域”，英文解释为“an area of land or water, especially one that is long and narrow”，如：a beautiful stretch of countryside 一片美丽的乡村；
2）表示“连续的一段时间”，英文解释为“a continuous period of time”，举个🌰：
She doesn’t leave the house for long stretches of time.
她不会长时间离开这房子。
fend for oneself
表示“独立生活；照料自己”，英文解释为“to look after yourself without needing help from other people”举个🌰：
The kids had to fend for themselves while their parents were away.
父母不在家时，孩子们只好自己照料自己。
swath
1）表示“长条区域，大块区域；（尤指）长条田地，大块田地”，英文解释为“a long strip or large area especially of land”举个🌰：
Huge swathes of rainforest are being cleared for farming and mining.
为了耕种和采矿，大片大片的雨林被砍伐。
2）表示“部分；范围”，英文解释为“a large part of something that includes several different things”举个🌰：
These people represent a broad/wide swathe of public opinion.
这些人代表了广大人民的意见。
Stores emptied out, and Broadway shows did not go on: Most theaters canceled their performances. In restaurants and bars, people drank by the glow of their smartphones.
But the lights — and, on a warm Saturday night in midsummer, the air conditioning and fans that keep people cool — began to return about 10 p.m. Power was fully restored by midnight, with cheers ringing out on the streets in response.
ring out
表示“响亮地发出；清晰地响起”，英文解释为“When a sound rings out, it is loud and clear.”举个🌰：
A shot rang out.
突然一声清脆的枪声。
Con Edison said that the power failed at 6:47 p.m. and that 73,000 customers were in the dark for at least three hours, mainly on the West Side. The blackout stretched from 72nd Street to the West 40s, and from Fifth Avenue to the Hudson River.
“停电”怎么表达？
文章开头用的是power failure，此处用了blackout。
blackout：a period of darkness caused by a failure of the electricity supply 停电，断电
还可以说power cut：A power cut is a period of time when the electricity supply to a particular building or area is stopped, sometimes deliberately.
以及power outage，欢迎补充。
Con Edison said the failure apparently stemmed from a problem at a substation on West 49th Street, and affected six power sectors.
substation
表示“变电站，变电所；配电室”，英文解释为“a place where electricity is passed on from the place that produces it into the main system”。
John McAvoy, Con Edison’s chairman and chief executive, suggested it was a mechanical failure but emphasized that the utility would not know the cause until an investigation was completed.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo was more specific, saying the failure started with an explosion and fire at a substation that caused other substations to “lose power and malfunction.”
“Once we get past the emergency, then I want to know what the heck happened,” Mr. Cuomo told WABC-TV, “because this is not the first time we have had a substation issue.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was in Iowa campaigning for his presidential bid, ruled out terrorism or criminal activity.
rule out
表示“使…成为不可能，使…不可能发生；防止”，英文解释为“to prevent something from happening”举个🌰：
This recent wave of terrorism has ruled out any chance of peace talks.
最近的这一波恐怖行动已经使得任何和谈的机会都化为泡影。
Con Edison customers “expect to have a system that contemplates, anticipates and prevents foreseeable occurrences,” he said.
The blackout happened on the same date that a large power failure in 1977 plunged the city into darkness. Now as then, Times Square — usually blindingly bright with tourists and crowds strolling to theaters — was dark, and traffic signals were out.
blindingly
表示“极度地”，英文解释为“extremely”举个🌰：
It's blindingly obvious that she's not happy at school.
实在太明显了，她在学校并不快乐。
stroll
表示“散步，漫步，闲逛，溜达”，英文解释为“to walk somewhere in a slow relaxed way”举个🌰：
We were strolling along, laughing and joking.
我们有说有笑，信步走着。
For several hours on Saturday night, the police asked drivers to avoid much of the West Side — the area between 42nd and 74th Streets, between Fifth and 12th Avenues.
At intersections, police officers and civilians worked together to direct traffic while fire trucks and ambulances screamed down side streets.
scream
表示“（车）呼啸着飞驰”，英文解释为“If a vehicle screams, it moves very quickly making a loud high sound.”举个🌰：
The cars screamed round the bend/past the spectators.
汽车尖啸着转弯/从观众面前呼啸而过。
Two young women posed for a selfie in the middle of 46th Street before an officer rushed over and chastised them, saying, “Ladies, this is not the time.”
chastise
表示“训斥; 责罚”，英文解释为“If you chastise someone, you speak to them angrily or punish them for something wrong that they have done.”举个🌰：
He chastised Tom for his cruelty. 她训斥了汤姆的残忍。
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the subway, said the blackout affected the entire system, with limited service for a time on several lines.
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