VOA慢速英语2019 巴黎圣母院突发大火（在线收听）

Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral Burning

A major fire on Monday began to burn at France’s world-famous Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral.

周一，法国著名的巴黎圣母院大教堂突发大火。

Flames could be seen rising through the top of the monument. Its tall, narrow spire later collapsed.

纪念碑的顶部火焰冲天。又高又窄的尖塔随后倒塌。

The cathedral dates back to the 12th century. French writer Victor Hugo used it as the setting of his famous story, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, first published in 1831.

这座大教堂可追溯到12世纪。法国作家维克多·雨果（Victor Hugo）把它作为其著名小说《巴黎圣母院》的背景，这本小说于1831年首次出版。

The cathedral is one of the world’s most famous tourist sites. About 12 million people visit Notre-Dame each year. It sits in the center of Paris, along the Seine River.

这座教堂是全球最著名的旅游景点之一。每年约有1200万游客参观巴黎圣母院。它位于巴黎的市中心，矗立于塞纳河畔。

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo wrote on Twitter Monday, “A terrible fire is underway at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.” Hidalgo added that Paris firefighters were still trying to contain the fire. She urged people to stay away from the area.

周一，巴黎市长安娜·伊达尔戈（Anne Hidalgo）在推特上表示，“巴黎圣母院发生了一场可怕的火灾。”伊达尔戈补充说，巴黎的消防员仍然在努力控制火势。她敦促民众远离该区域。

As the cathedral's roof continued to burn, a police officer near the scene told Reuters news agency, “Everything is collapsing.”

随着大教堂的屋顶火势蔓延，一位靠近现场的警察告诉路透社，“一切都在倾然倒塌。”

French President Emmanuel Macron delayed a planned scheduled speech to the nation because of the fire. The speech was to present his answers to the yellow vest crisis that has taken over the country since November.

法国总统马克龙因为这次火灾推迟了原定的全国演讲行程。这次演讲旨在回应自去年11月以来席卷全国的“黄背心危机”。

Macron arrived at the scene of the fire Monday night.

周一晚间，马克龙前往火灾现场视察。

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. France 2 television reported that police were treating it as accidental.

火灾原因尚不清楚。法国第二电视台播报称，警方认为这次火灾是一次意外事故。

Workers had been renovating parts of Notre-Dame. Parts of the monument were surrounded by a metal and wood support structure. The cathedral's bronze statues had been removed last week for repairs.

此前，工人一直在修缮巴黎圣母院的部分建筑。纪念碑的一部分被金属和木头组成的脚手架包围。大教堂的青铜雕像上周已被移至别处修复。

Notre-Dame’s first stone was laid in 1163 by Pope Alexander III. Its main spire was added during repairs in the 19th century.

巴黎圣母院的第一块基石是1163年由教皇亚历山大三世奠定的。主尖塔是在19世纪期间修缮时增加的。

Words in This Story

cathedral - n. a main church of an area

flame - n. hot, glowing gas that can be seen when a fire is burning

spire - n. a tall, narrow, pointed structure, usually on top of a church

tourist - n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure

renovate - v. to make changes and repairs

statue - n. a figure usually of a person or animal that is made from stone, metal, etc.