英闻天下——201 Santa Maria Mourning Night Club Tragedy

 　　Four people have been detained in Brazil in connection with the devastating¹ nightclub fire that left more than 230 dead and over 110 injured.

 

　　Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has announced a three-day national mourning period for the dead.

 

　　Adriano Yalo is a relative of victim killed in the fire.

 

　　"I think that public authorities are also responsible. It's a set of responsible parties that caused the fire. Not just one or two or three people, this includes the government, the firefighters, the owner of the nightclub. We're hurt."

 

　　Rio Grande do Sul state governor, Tarso Genro, paid a visit to the town of Santa Maria and spoke² to some of the families. He stressed the need to find reasons for the causes of the tragedy.

 

　　"These detentions³ that have been made, don't get it wrong - no one has been charged, those detentions have been made to facilitate the investigations⁴."

 

　　China has expressed its heartfelt concern for the victims of the nightclub fire. The country has also launched a nationwide campaign to reduce potential fire risks in public buildings.

 

　　UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon has also extended his condolences.

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

4 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。