纪录片《为何无法预测地震》 第31期:不要在断裂带兴建房屋

Over in China, the devastation¹ in Sichuan Province

中国的四川地震带来的破坏

serves as a stark² reminder³ of the potential cost

深刻揭示了建在地震断层上的

of building on earthquake faults.

建筑物的潜在隐患

Mike and Jing have come to Bailu, a mountain town

麦克和刘静来到白鹿镇

around 50 kilometres from the earthquake's epicentre.

一个距离震中五十公里的小山镇

The fault passes right through this valley,

断层贯穿整个山谷

heading straight for the town's middle school.

直指小镇的中学

Well, this is quite something.

破坏力真是惊人

Thanks to an astonishing stroke of luck,

感谢幸运之神的眷顾

the rupture⁴ missed both of the buildings containing classrooms,

断裂没祸及两座教学楼

but at the end of the playground,

但在操场尽头

the earthquake demolished⁵ a block of housing,

地震摧毁了一片房子

killing⁶ several teachers.

几位老师遇难

From a societal point of view,

从社会角度出发

what we would, er, be very happy about seeing here,

我们很庆幸看到

um, extraordinarily⁷ happy,

十分的庆幸

is that these buildings that are built

建在断裂地带两边的

either side of the rupture didn't collapse⁸,

建筑物安然无恙

and that one over there appears to have very little damage,

而那边的建筑物除了玻璃被震毁以外

you know, apart from broken windows,

只遭受到少许损坏

but, er, this rupture goes through

但断裂带穿过的地方

what used to be the dormitory for the school teachers

也就是以前的教师宿舍

and that's completely gone.

现已被夷为平地

Um, so first lesson, don't build across a rupture.

所以首条教训是 不要在断裂地带兴建房屋

1 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

3 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

4 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

5 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

8 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。