VOA慢速英语--Million-Dollar Coin Stolen from Museum in Berlin

 

This is What’s Trending Today.

The Bode¹ Museum in Berlin, Germany is known for its collection of 540,000 rare coins.

As of this week, however, it is down to 539,999.

The collection’s largest coin has been stolen. The giant coin weighs 100 kilograms and is 53 centimeters wide.

The Royal Canadian Mint² produced the coin. It is known as “Big Maple³ Leaf.”

The face value of the coin is $1 million. But experts say it may be worth up to $4 million because its gold is so pure.

It was loaned⁴ to the museum in 2010.

The museum kept the coin behind bulletproof glass. But, thieves managed to break the case.

Berlin police believe the thieves climbed in through a window at the back of the museum. The window is next to train tracks. Police say the thieves used a ladder to reach the window, dropped into the museum, broke the case and took the coin.

Since the coin was so large, police are looking for a group of suspects.

They say the break-in happened early Monday morning, when trains were not operating. They believe the thieves were in and out of the museum in just 25 minutes.

The police have not said if there is security⁵ video of the crime. People on social media say the robbery⁶ seems like something you would see in a movie.

Others are questioning how the thieves got such a heavy coin out of the museum. One person guessed that the thieves must all be weightlifters.

Others want to know what they will do with the coin, since they can’t sell it. And of course, they cannot use it in a vending⁷ machine to buy a snack, one Twitter user⁸ joked.

Experts think the thieves may try to melt the coin into smaller pieces and try to sell the gold.

And that’s What’s Trending Today.

Words in This Story

vending machine – n. a machine that you put money into in order to buy food, drinks, cigarettes, etc.

snack – n. a small amount of food eaten between meals

face value – n. the value that is printed or shown on something (such as a coin or bill)

1 bode   

v.预示

参考例句：

• These figures do not bode well for the company's future.这些数字显示出公司的前景不妙。
• His careful habits bode well for his future.他那认真的习惯预示著他会有好的前途。

2 mint   

n.薄荷，铸币厂；vt.铸造（硬币），创造（词）等

参考例句：

• The mint makes coins.铸币厂制造硬币。
• This candy tastes of mint.这糖果有薄荷味。

3 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

4 loaned   

v.借出，贷与（尤指钱）( loan的过去式和过去分词 )；出借（贵重物品给博物馆等）

参考例句：

• I have loaned his bicycle. 我把他的自行车给借出去了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ground was loaned out for numerous events including pop concerts. 场地被借用来搞过无数活动，包括流行音乐会。 来自辞典例句

5 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

6 robbery   

n.抢劫；抢劫案

参考例句：

• A man is being questioned in connection with the robbery.一名男子就那起抢劫案接受查问。
• The police are offering a big reward for information about the robbery.警方出大笔赏金要求提供那起抢劫案的破案线索。

7 vending   

v.出售（尤指土地等财产）( vend的现在分词 )；（尤指在公共场所）贩卖；发表（意见，言论）；声明

参考例句：

• Why Are You Banging on the Vending Machine? 你为什么敲打这台自动售货机？ 来自朗文快捷英语教程 2
• Coca-Cola had to adapt almost 300,000 vending machines to accept the new coins. 可口可乐公司必须使将近三十万台自动贩卖机接受新货币。 来自超越目标英语 第5册

8 user   

n.用户，使用者

参考例句：

• The company is the biggest user of oil.该公司是最大的石油用户。
• The umbrella keeps the rains off the user.雨伞使撑伞人免受雨淋。