中英双语新闻 英国国会大厦即将翻新

英国国会大厦即将翻新

It’s one of Britain’s most famous landmarks¹. It’s 150 years old and it’s becoming uninhabitable. A report has recommended that MPs move out of the British Houses of Parliament so a huge restoration project can be carried out. Our political correspondent Ian Watson has been to investigate some of the crumbling² parts of the building.

On the outside, the Palace of Westminster looks as majestic³ as ever. I’m now going into the very bowels⁴ of the building as I weed through dust encrusted stairs. Immediately the atmosphere changes. The temperature goes up several degrees. So lurking⁵ down here in the basement is Chris Bryant the labor⁶ MP who’s been on the committee that’s decided⁷ that MPs have to move out for six years.

I am not lurking. The truth is side by side you’ve got high pressure steam central heating system. There’s some cables down there which seem to be going nowhere. 

That might be David Cameron’s telephones just been cut off by Theresa May. And what happened in 1934 was that there was a massive fire. And the real danger is that that would happen again.

And his fellow committee member still rejected criticism that four billion pounds would be spent on a mere⁸ facelift.

This is about the arteries⁹ and veins¹⁰ and major organs of something that is so important toour national identity.

Ian Watson reporting from Westminster.

“Enjoy yourself!” One of the classics of Jamaican singer Prince Buster whose death has been announced. He was 78 years old and died at his home in Florida. The songs he recorded in early 1960s inspired a revival¹¹ of ska music in Britain two decades later with bands like Madness and The Specials covering his songs. In 2001, Prince Buster, the man born as Cecil Campbell who became a self-proclaimed King of ska was awarded the Order of Distinction in Jamaica for his contribution to the development of the country’s music industry. So let’s end the podcast with some more of Prince Buster.

Air pollution is now the forth¹² biggest killer¹³ in the world, causing one in ten deaths. That’s the finding of a new report by the World Bank which has called for urgent action to tackle the problem. It says the cost to the global economy amounts to more than 200 billion dollars. I’ve been talking to one of the authors. 

它是英国最著名地标建筑之一，拥有150年的历史，如今却越来越不适合居住。某报道建议国会议员搬出英国国会大厦，让位于大型修复项目的实施。本台政治记者伊恩·沃森前去调查这栋大楼里那些摇摇欲坠的部分。

威斯敏斯特宫从外面看起来还是一如既往的庄严宏伟，我现在正穿过尘封的台阶，向这座建筑的最里面迈进。空气一下子有了变化，气温升高了几度。藏在地下室里的这位是克里斯·布莱恩特，国会工党议员，他所在的委员会决定让国会议员搬出去六年。

我没有在藏。其实我们两旁都是高压蒸汽集中供暖系统。那下面有些电线似乎没接通，可能是刚被特蕾莎·梅切断的卡梅伦的电话线吧。1934年这里起了一场大火，现在实际的危险是这种事情会再次发生。

委员会的另一位同事仍在反驳批评言论，有人说这40亿英镑就花在了区区一个翻新上面。

这关乎对我们国家认同感至关重要的建筑的动脉、静脉和重要脏器。

伊恩·沃森威斯敏斯特报道。

《玩得开心》是刚刚过世的牙买加歌手普林斯·巴斯特的经典歌曲之一。他在佛罗里达家中去世，享年78岁。录制于20世纪60年代的歌曲激发了20年后英国斯卡音乐的复兴，疯狂乐队和特别乐队等纷纷翻唱他的歌曲。普林斯·巴斯特原名塞西尔·坎贝尔，自称斯卡之王，凭借对牙买加音乐发展的贡献荣获 “Order of Distinction”称号（牙买加荣誉系统中第六级称号）。那么让我们在普林斯·巴斯特的更多音乐作品中结束本次播客。

空气污染现已是世界第四大杀手，平均每10人死亡就有1人是空气污染导致。这是世界银行一项新报告的发现，世界银行呼吁采取紧急行动解决该问题。该报告显示，空气污染的全球经济成本达两千多亿美元。就此，我采访了该报告的一位联合撰稿人。

1 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

2 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

3 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

4 bowels   

n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处

参考例句：

• Salts is a medicine that causes movements of the bowels. 泻盐是一种促使肠子运动的药物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cabins are in the bowels of the ship. 舱房设在船腹内。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

9 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

12 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

13 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。