1-close in 逼近，靠近

In a country where there has always been more space than people, where the land and wildlife are cherished like a Picasso, nature is closing in.

2-ashen 面色苍白的，没有血色的

3-moonscape 月球表面

Fueled by climate change and the world's refusal to address it, the fires that have burned across Australia are not just destroying lives, or turning forests as large as nations into ashen moonscapes.

4-hum 繁忙

5-bunker 地堡

When air filters hum in homes that are bunkers, kids kept indoors.

6-rustle 沙沙声

7-marsupial 带袋的动物

8-give way to 被……替代

9-eerie 可怕的

When birdsong and the rustle of marsupials in the bush give way to eerie, smoky silence.

10-linger 逗留，徘徊

Like the fires, it's a methaphor that lingers.

11-hold sb/sth dear 极为珍视

12-flammable 易燃的

What many of us have witnessed this fire season does feel alive, like a monstrous gathering force threatening to devour what we hold most dear on a continent that will grow only hotter, drier and more flammable as global temperatures rise.

13-trauma 创伤

14-take hold 控制

And in a land usually associated with relaxed optimism, anxiety and trauma have taken hold.

15-play down 减低……的重要性，淡化

The conservative government is still playing down the role of climate change, despite polls showing public anger hitting feverish levels.

16-potent 有效的，有说服力的

And yet what's emerging alongside public protest may prove more potent.

17-stumble 踉跄

They are stumbling toward new ways of living: housing, holiday, travel, work, leisure, food and water are all being reconsidered.