经济学人:巴西夜总会大火 狂欢后的悲剧

 　　The Americas Brazil's nightclub fire

　　美洲巴西夜总会大火

　　A night from hell

　　地狱般的一夜

　　Better fire prevention should be the memorial

　　为防止悲剧再度上演，巴西应当完善防火措施

　　......Unbearable¹ loss......

　　......生命中无法承受之失......

　　BRAZIL was supposed to be celebrating this week:

　　本周，巴西本应是一个欢庆的海洋：

　　巴西夜总会大火.jpg

　　the first of the stadiums for next year's football World Cup staged a debut² match and a party was planned to mark 500 days till kick-off.

　　首个为2014年巴西世界杯而专门建造的体育场将举行处女赛，而庆祝世界杯500天倒计时的狂欢也在筹备当中。

　　Instead the country is in mourning, the party cancelled.

　　恰恰相反，整个巴西现在陷入沉痛的悲哀之中，狂欢也取消了。

　　Early on January 27th a fire in a nightclub, Kiss, in Santa Maria, a university town in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, killed 235 people, mainly students.

　　1月27日的早些时候，隶属巴西南部的南里奥格兰德州的大学城——圣玛丽亚市中心一家名为“吻”的夜总会发生火灾，导致235人死亡，其中大部分为学生。

　　Most of the more than 100 injured are in a critical condition.

　　受伤人数超过100人，其中大部分伤势危急。

　　President Dilma Rousseff, visibly upset, rushed back from a summit in Chile and declared three days of national mourning.

　　正在智利参加峰会的迪尔马·罗塞夫总统明显非常焦虑，她迅速返回巴西，并宣布为遇害者举行为期三天的全国哀悼。

　　A catalogue of negligence³ caused Brazil's most lethal⁴ fire for more than 50 years.

　　一连串的疏忽导致了此次巴西50多年来最致命的一场火灾。

　　It was started by a spark from a flare⁵ lit by the band performing in the early hours.

　　火灾最初是由在下半夜演奏的乐队发射闪光信号引起的，

　　That set light to soundproofing foam⁶ on the ceiling.

　　烟花的火花引燃了屋顶的隔音泡沫材料，

　　Flames spread fast, releasing toxic⁷ fumes⁸ and short-circuiting the power supply, casting the venue⁹ into darkness.

　　大火迅速蔓延，释放出有毒气体，导致电路短路，整个夜总会之后陷入一片黑暗。

　　Security guards stopped the first to flee, apparently¹⁰ believing they were trying to bunk¹¹ without paying : in Brazil, club patrons run up tabs and pay on the way out.

　　保安阻挡了第一批逃生出来的人的去路，显然他们认为这些人是想逃票：在巴西，夜总会的顾客先消费，然后在离开时付账。

　　Police say around 1,000 people were in the club, whose capacity was 690, and that there were no working fire escapes.

　　警方表示，这家夜总会的客容量为690人，而当时却有1000左右的人在里面，此外，夜总会的火灾安全出口也无法使用。

　　Most of the deaths were by crushing or asphyxiation¹².

　　大多数的死亡由踩踏或者窒息所致。

　　Dozens of bodies were found in the bathrooms, presumably mistaken for exits in the panic.

　　卫生间里遍布尸体，大概是人们在慌乱之中错把这里当做出口。

　　The crush at the door was so severe that firefighters and bystanders had to tear down a wall to get in.

　　门口的踩踏情况十分严重，因此消防员和围观群众不得不拆除一面墙，才得以进入夜总会救人。

　　At least Brazilians could take pride in the emergency response.

　　尽管如此，巴西人至少能够为此次火灾中救援人员的快速反应感到些许欣慰。

　　Firefighters arrived quickly.

　　消防队员迅速抵达现场。

　　The armed forces airlifted some of the injured to other cities.

　　军方出动飞机将一部分伤者转移到其他城市。

　　Hospitals around the country sent specialist equipment, such as respirators : many survivors¹³ have damaged lungs.

　　全国的医院向圣玛丽亚市运送了呼吸器和其他专门设备：许多幸存者肺部受到严重损伤。

　　Skin banks in Montevideo and Buenos Aires as well as in Recife and San Paulo, sent supplies for about 20 victims with severe burns.

　　位于蒙得维的亚、布宜诺斯艾利斯、累西腓和圣保罗的皮肤库也向20名左右严重烧伤的受害者提供移植需要的皮肤。

　　The buck-passing has already started.

　　相关方面已经开始相互推诿责任。

　　The public prosecutor¹⁴ said there was " clear evidence" that the club should not have been open : its public-health licence and fire-safety plan had expired.

　　公诉人表示，有“明显证据”显示，这家夜总会当时不具有营业资格：它的公共卫生许可证和消防安全许可证已经过期。

　　The mayor blamed the fire brigade ; it replied that since the club had applied¹⁵ for an extension, it could keep operating.

　　市长则归咎于消防队，而消防队做出回应，称如果该夜总会已经申请了延期，就能够正常营业。

　　Investigators¹⁶ want to know how a venue apparently lacking even basic safety precautions had been licensed¹⁷ in the first place.

　　火灾调查员不明白的是，该夜总会连最基本的安全保护措施都没有，最初的营业执照是如何取得的。

　　The two owners, and two members of the band whose pyrotechnics started the blaze, have been arrested (one of the owners is in hospital after trying to commit suicide).

　　夜总会的两名股东，以及燃放烟火导致火灾的两名乐队成员，都已被逮捕（其中一名股东在自杀未遂后被送往医院）。

　　Similar tragedies elsewhere have led to tougher fire-safety laws.

　　其他地方在发生类似悲剧后，都出台了更加严格的火灾安全法案。

　　After the Cromanon nightclub fire in Buenos Aires in 2004, which killed 194, the city's venues¹⁸ were closed until they passed new inspections¹⁹.

　　2004年，位于布宜诺斯艾利斯的“克罗玛格农共和国”夜总会发生火灾，导致194人死亡。当局关闭了市内所有夜总会，只有通过新一轮的安全检查才能继续营业。

　　In the United States many states mandated²⁰ sprinklers in large new venues and banned indoor pyrotechnics after a nightclub fire in Rhode Island in 2003.

　　在美国，自2003年罗德岛夜总会大火之后，许多州就强制大型新建夜总会安装喷水灭火装置，并严禁室内使用烟火。

　　In Brazil each state sets its own rules.

　　在巴西，各州规定不尽相同。

　　Some governors have said they will rewrite theirs.

　　有一些州长表示他们将会改写本州规定。

　　A proposal from 2007 to set minimum national standards has idled in Congress; its author now hopes to push it through.

　　2007年，有人提议设定最低国家标准，然而这一提案被国会搁置，现在它的起草者希望能借此机会推动提案的通过。

　　Tougher laws will be little use without enforcement, which is the job of mayors.

　　如果做不到严格执法，法律就是一纸空文，而执行则是市长的职责。

　　Brazilian businesses are often unregistered, partly to avoid tax but also because much of the paperwork is pointlessly burdensome.

　　巴西许多企业往往没有进行注册，部分原因是为了逃避沉重的税收，企业注册需要的文件大多毫无意义十分麻烦也是原因之一。

　　Those that do register face delays and sometimes requests for bribes²¹.

　　那些确实注册了的企业，也要面对各种审批延迟的情况，有时还会被索贿。

　　Random²² checks on 29 nightclubs in San Paulo this week found nine were operating without licences ;

　　本周对圣保罗29家夜总会进行的随机检查发现，其中有9家都属于无照经营，

　　owners retorted that they had applied in good time but been left waiting, sometimes for years.

　　这些夜总会的业主反驳说，他们早早地就进行申请了，但是一直等不到反馈消息，有时一等就是好几年。

　　Eight others appeared not to be registered at all.

　　其中还有8家似乎根本就没有进行注册。

　　In a meeting with mayors on January 28th Ms Rousseff asked for their help.

　　2月28日，罗塞夫总统与各市长举行会谈，她呼吁市长们都参与进来。

　　" We have to make sure that tragedies like this are never repeated," she said.

　　她说：“我们必须确保此类悲剧将不会重演。”

　　Perhaps Brazil is now ready to do what that would take.

　　也许，也许巴西现在已经整装待发，准备行动了。

　　1.make sure 确保

　　例句:I make sure I make time for fishing because it's how I de-stress.

　　我一定会腾出时间去钓鱼，因为这是我减压放松的方法。

　　2.nightclub 夜总会

　　例句:I was in a nightclub in Brixton and a fight broke out.

　　当时我在布里克斯顿的一家夜总会里，那里发生了一场斗殴。

　　3.led to 导致

　　例句:The laws led to confusion, muddle²³ and years of delay.

　　这些法律导致了困惑、混乱和数年的耽搁。

　　4.as well as 也

　　例句:They visited some factories, hospitals as well as the school.

　　他们参观了这所学校，还参观了工厂和医院。

1 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

2 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

3 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

4 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

5 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

6 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

7 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

8 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

9 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

11 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

12 asphyxiation   

n. 窒息

参考例句：

• Objective Inquiry into the heavy asphyxiation rescues measure of the new born. 摘要目的探讨新生儿重度窒息抢救的措施。
• Self-contained breathing apparatus(SCBA) may be required to prevent asphyxiation of rescue personnel. 可能要求有自给式呼吸器(SCBA)，以防止救援人员窒息。

13 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

14 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

15 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

16 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

18 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

19 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

21 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

22 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

23 muddle   

n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱

参考例句：

• Everything in the room was in a muddle.房间里每一件东西都是乱七八糟的。
• Don't work in a rush and get into a muddle.克服忙乱现象。