百分之八十市區遭淹沒
Tourists and locals in Venice had to walk through water with knee-high boots on November 12.
11月12日，威尼斯的觀光客和當地人必須穿著及膝的靴子涉水，
walk through water涉水而過
It turns out that the city was hit by the second-worst high tide in its history, with many squares and alleys deep underwater as a result.
原來威尼斯市遭逢史上第二嚴重的漲潮，許多廣場和巷弄因此浸泡在深水中。
It turns out that…原來是….high tide漲潮low tide退潮as a result因此=as a consequence=consequently
Officials said that more than 80 percent of the city was flooded.
官員表示，該市超過百分之八十的區域被淹沒了。
flooded(adj.)被淹沒了=swamped=submerged
The tidewater reached 1.87 meters amid heavy rain on Tuesday, just short of the record high of 1.94 meters in 1966.
潮水於週二在大雨中達到 1.87公尺的高度，離1966 年的紀錄（1.94 公尺）只差了一點。
be short of~短缺;不足;距離…差了一點
Roadside businesses experienced a power outage and had no way to pump out the water.
路邊的店家停電，無法將水抽出。
power outage停電=power cut=blackout=power failurepump out (用幫浦)抽水
Hotel guests with rooms on the first floor had to move upstairs as the water was rising.
隨著水位上升，一樓的旅館房客只得搬到樓上。
rise(v.)上升=go up
Meanwhile, tables and chairs were floating and bobbing up and down in the floodwater.
同時，桌椅在洪水中載浮載沉。
meanwhile(adv.)同時float(v.)漂浮bob up and down載浮載沈
Worse yet, tourist attractions such as St. Mark’s Basilica and La Fenice Opera House were under several feet of salty water. The salt is believed to have caused serious damage to the structures.
更糟的是，聖馬可大教堂和鳳凰劇院浸泡在數英尺的鹹水中，鹽分據信已經對結構造成嚴重的破壞。
Worse yet=What is worse更糟的是tourist attractions觀光景點=scenic spotsfeet(n.)英尺S be believed to RV據信;被認為…cause or do damage to~對…造成破壞structure(n.)結構
“Venice is on its knees,” said Mayor Luigi Brugnaro as he declared a state of emergency on Wednesday.
市長布魯尼亞羅表示：「威尼斯市遭到重創」，並於週三宣布進入緊急狀態。
on its knees遭遇困境declare(v.)公開宣佈=announce sth. to the publica state of emergency緊急狀態
Government officials blamed the flooding on climate change, warning that the city will be swamped within a century if climate change continues to worsen.
官員將洪患歸咎於氣候變遷，並警告如果氣候變遷持續惡化，威尼斯將在一世紀內被淹沒。
blame…on…將…怪罪在…之上;將…歸因於blame sb. for sth.因為某事而怪罪某人warning…=and warned…警告(分詞構句用法)swamp(n.)(v.)沼澤地、濕地、淹沒climate change 氣候變遷global warming全球暖化worsen(v.)惡化=get or become worse