VOA慢速英语2018 洛杉矶男孩掉入排污管道后获救

California officials are praising workers for rescuing a 13-year-old boy who fell into a river of sewage in Los Angeles.

加州官员都在褒奖工人们拯救了一位掉入洛杉矶下水道的13岁男孩。

The boy, Jesse Hernandez, spent more than 12 hours in the city's large underground sewage system. It is filled with refuse liquids and other waste materials, some of them poisonous.

这位名为杰西·赫尔南德斯（Jesse Hernandez）的男孩困在该市的大型地下排污系统中超过12个小时。那里满是污水和其它废物，其中一些还有毒。

Jesse had been playing at a public park with other children during a family gathering¹ on Sunday. At one point, the children were on pieces of wood that covered an opening leading to the sewer² system. One of the wooden planks³ broke.

在周日一次家庭聚会期间，杰西跟其他孩子一起在公园玩耍。某一时刻，孩子们站到了覆盖污水系统入口的木板上。其中一块木板坏了。

The boy fell about eight meters down and landed in fast-moving sewage, said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

洛杉矶消防局发言人布赖恩·汉弗莱（Brian Humphrey）说，这个孩子下落了大约8米，掉入了快速流动的污水中。

The other children quickly told adults what had happened. The adults then called an emergency telephone line for help.

其他孩子迅速把这件事告诉了大人。接着大人们拨打了紧急电话寻求帮助。

Rescuers immediately began searching for Jesse underground. They set cameras on floatation devices, which they put into the sewage system.

救援人员很快开始搜救困在地下的杰西。他们将摄像头安装在漂浮设备上，然后将其放入污水处理系统中。

Rescuers finally found Jesse after seeing images of handprints on a pipe. A crew of sanitation⁴ workers hurried to the area and opened a manhole.

在看到一处管道上的手印图像后，救援人员终于找到了杰西。一位环卫工人很快赶到该地区，并打开了一处污水井。

"The first thing they heard was ‘Help!'" said Adel Hagekhalil, an official with the Los Angeles sanitation department.

洛杉矶卫生部门的官员阿德尔·哈格哈利勒（Adel Hagekhalil）表示，“他们最先听到的是‘救命！’”

The crew lowered down a long hose to Jesse, who was about three meters deep in the pipe. The boy held onto the line while workers pulled him up.

工作人员将一根长水管放下去给杰西，他困在管道里大概三米深的位置。这个男孩紧紧抓住了这个水管，工作人员把他拉了上来。

By the time workers found Jesse, about 700 meters of pipes had been inspected during a 12-hour period.

到工作人员找到杰西时，他们已经在12个小时里检查了大约700米管道。

Jesse was found less than two kilometers from where he fell in. He was taken to a hospital for a full physical examination and to be reunited with his family.

杰西被发现在距离他掉落处不到2公里的位置。他被送往医院接受全面体检，并与家人团聚。

More than 100 people took part in the search for Jesse. In addition to the major rescue effort, Humphrey credited the boy for being able to survive.

超过100人参与了对杰西的搜救。除了重要的救援工作之外，汉弗莱把这位男孩能够幸存下来归功于他自己。

Not only did he survive being pushed through sewage moving at speeds of 24 kilometers an hour, Jesse was able to find a small area of breathable air and wait there until he was found, officials said.

有关人员表示，他不但在以24公里每小时流动的污水中幸存下来，还找到了一小块可够呼吸的地方，并在那里一直等到被发现。

"Many would call it miraculous," Humphrey said of Jesse's survival. He added that the chances of someone surviving such an event are low.

汉弗莱在谈到杰西的幸存时表示，“很多人都会称之为奇迹。”他补充说，人们在这种事件中的幸存机会很低。

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was among those closely watching the rescue effort.

洛杉矶市长埃里克·伽西提（Eric Garcetti）也密切关注了这次救援行动。

On Twitter, Garcetti praised rescuers and thanked Jesse's family for their "patience and optimism" during the frightening experience.

伽西提在推特上赞扬了救援人员，并感谢杰西的家人在这次可怕经历中的“耐心和乐观。”

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

3 planks   

（厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点

参考例句：

• The house was built solidly of rough wooden planks. 这房子是用粗木板牢固地建造的。
• We sawed the log into planks. 我们把木头锯成了木板。

4 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。